NOTES 



ON THE 



STATE OP VIRGINIA 



Br THOMAS JEFFERSON, 



BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED BY LILLY AND WAIT. 

1832. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The following Notes were written in Virginia, 
in the year 1781, and somewhat corrected and 
enlarged in the winter of 1782, in answer to 
Queries proposed to the author, by a foreigner 
of distinction, then residing amongst us. The 
subjects are all treated imperfectly ; some scarce- 
ly touched on. To apologize for this by develop- 
ing the circumstances of the time and place of 
their composition, would be to open wounds 
which have already bled enough. To these cir- 
cumstances some of their imperfections may with 
truth be ascribed ; the great mass to the want of 
information and want of talents in the writer. 
He had a few copies printed, which he gave 
among his friends : and a translation of them has 
been lately published in France, but with such 
alterations as the laws of the press in that coun- 
try rendered necessary. They are now offered 
to the public in their original form and language. 

February 27, 1787. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 



1. Boundaries of Virginia* 1 

2. Rivers, 2 

3. Sea-ports, 15 s 

4. Mountains, 16 

5. Cascades, 19 

6. Productions, mineral, vegetable, and animal, 23 

7. Climate, 77 

8. Population, 87 

9. Military force, 93 
10 Marine force, 94 

11. Aborigines, £6 

12. Counties and towns^ 110 

13. Constitution, 112' 

14. Laws, 135 

15. Colleges, buildings, and roads, 157 

16. Proceedings as to Tories, 162 

17. Religion, 164 

18. Manners, 169 

19. Manufactures, 171 

20. Subjects of commerce, 173 

21. Weights, measures and money, 177 

22. Public revenue and expenses, 180 

23. Histories, memorials and state-papers, 185 

Appendix, No. I. 208* 

No. 11. 221 

No. nr. 235* 

Relative to the murder of Lo- 
gan's Family, 238 ; 
Inaugural Speech of Thos. Jefferson f delivered 

March 4, 1801, 275 



1TOTES OF VIRGINIA. 



QUERY I. 

.An exact description of the limits and boundaries of 
the State of Virginia ? 

Virginia is bounded on the East by the Atlantic: on 
the North by a line of latitude, crossing the Eastern 
Shore through Watki.Vs Point., being about 37°. 57'. 
North latitude ; from thence by a straight line to Cin- 
quac, near the mouth of Patowmac ; thence by the 
Patowmac, which is common to Virginia and Maryland, 
to the first fountain of its northern branch ; thence by 
a meridian line, passing through that fountain till it 
intersects a line running East and West, in latitude 
39°. 43 . 42.4 . which divides Maryland from Pennsyl- 
vania, and which was marked by Messrs. Mason and 
Dixon ; thence by that line, and a continuation of it 
westwardly to the completion of five degrees of longi- 
tude from the eastern boundary of Pennsylvania, in 
the same latitude, and thence by a meridian line to the 
Ohio : on the West by the Ohio and Mississippi, to the 
latitude 36°. 30 . North : and on the South by the line of 
latitude last mentioned, By admeasurements through 
nearly the whole of this last line, and supplying the 
unmeasured parts from good data, die Atlantic and 
Mississippi are found in this latitude to be 758 miles 
distant, equal to 30°. 38 of longitude, reckoning 55 
miles and 3144 fee; to the degree. This being our com- 
prehension of longitude, that of our latitude, taken be- 
tween this and Mason and Dixon's line, is 3°. 13'. 42. 4". 
equal to 223.3 miles, supposing a degree of a great cir- 
cle to be 69 m. 864 feet as computed by Cassini. These 
boundaries include an area somewhat triangular, of 



2 



121,525 square miles, whereof 79,650 lie westward of 
the Alleghaney mountains, and 57,034 westward of the 
meridian of the mouth of the Great Kanhaway. This 
state is therefore one third larger than the islands of 
Great Britain and Ireland, which are reckoned at 88,357 
square miles. 

These limits result from, 1. The ancient charters 
from the crown of England. 2. The grant of Mary- 
land to the Lord Baltimore, and the subsequent deter- 
minations of the British court as to the extent of that 
grant. 3. The grant of Pennsylvania to William Perm, 
and a compact between the general assemblies of the 
commonwealths of Virginia and Pennsylvania as to the 
extent of that grant. 4. The grant of Carolina, and 
actual location of its northern boundary, by consent of 
both parties. 5. The treaty of Paris of 1763. 6. The 
confirmation of the charters of the neighbouring states 
by the convention of Virginia at the time of constitut- 
ing their commonwealth. 7. The cession made by 
Virginia to Congress of all the lands to which they had 
title on the North side of the Ohio. 



QUERY II. 

A notice of its rivers, rivulets, and how far they are 
navigable ? 

An inspection of a map of Virginia, will give a bet- 
ter idea of the geography of its rivers, than any de- 
scription in writing. Their navigation may be imper- 
fectly noted. 

Roanoke, so far as it lies within this state, is no where 
navigable, but for canoes or light batteaux ; and, even 
for these, in such detached parcels as to have prevent- 
ed the inhabitants from availing themselves of it at all. 

James River, and its waters, afford navigation as fol- 
lows. 

The whole of Elizabeth River, the lowest of those 
which run into James River, is a harbour, and would 



3 



contain upwards of 300 ships. The channel is from 
150 to 200 fathom wide, and at common flood tide, 
affords 18 feet water to Norfolk. The Stafford, a 60 
gun ship, went there, lightening herself to cross the bar 
at Sowel's Point. The Fier Rodrigue, pierced for 64 
guns, and carrying 50, went there without lightening. 
Craney island, at the mouth of this river, commands its 
channel tolerably well. 

Nansemond River, is navigable to Sleepy Hole, for 
vessels of 250 tons ; to Suffolk, for those of 100 tons ; 
and to Milner's, for those of 25. 

Pagan Creek affords 8 or 10 feet water to Smithfield, 
which admits vessels of 20 tons. 

Chickahominy has at its mouth a bar, on which is only 
12 feet water at common flood tide. Vessels passing 
that, may go S miles up the river; those of 10 feet 
draught may go four miles further, and those of six 
tons burthen, 20 miles further. 

Appamattox may be navigated as far as Broadways, 
by any vessel which has crossed Harrison's Bar in James 
River; it keeps 8 or 10 feet water a mile or two higher 
up to Fishers bar, and 4 feet on that and upwards to 
Petersburg, where all navigation ceases. 

James River itself affords harbour for vessels of any 
size in Hampton Road, but not in safety through the 
whole winter ; and there is navigable water for them 
as far as Mulberry Island. A 40 gun ship goes to James 
town, and lightening herself, may pass to Harrison's 
bar ; on which there is only 15 feet water. Vessels of 
250 tons may go to Warwick ; those of 125 go to Rock- 
et's, a mile below Richmond; from thence is about 7 
feet water to Richmond; and about the centre of the 
town, four feet and a half, where the navigation is in- 
terrupted by falls, which in a course of six miles, de- 
scend about 80 feet perpendicular ; above these it is re- 
sumed in canoes, and batteaux, and is prosecuted safe- 
ly and advantageously to within 10 miles of the Blue 
Ridge ; and even through the Blue Ridge a ton weight 
has been brought; and the expense would not be great, 
when compared with its object, to open a tolerable navi~ 



li- 



gation up Jackson's River and Carpenter's creek, to 
within 25 miles of Howard's creek of Green Briar, 
both of which have then water enough to float vessels 
into the Great Kanhaway. In some future state of 
population, I think it possible, that its navigation may 
also be made to interlock with that of the Patowmac, 
and through that to communicate by a short portage 
with the Ohio. It is to be noted, that this river is call- 
ed in the maps James River, only to its confluence with 
the Rivanna: thence to the Blue Ridge it is called the 
Fluvanna : and thence to its source, Jackson's river. But 
in common speech, it is called James river to its source. 

The Rivanna a Branch of James River, is navigable 
for canoes and batteaux to its intersection with the 
South West mountains, which is about 22 miles; and 
may easily be opened to navigation through these 
mountains to its fork above Charlottesville. 

York River, at York town, affords the best harbour 
in the state for vessels of the largest size. The river 
there narrows to the width of a mile, and is contained 
within very high banks, close under which the vessels 
may ride. It holds 4 fathom water at high tide for 25 
miles above York to the mouth of Poropotank, where 
the river is a mile and a half wide, and the channel 
only 75 fathom, and passing under a high bank. At 
the confluence of Pamunkey and Mattapony, it is re- 
duced to 3 fathom depth, which continues up Pamun- 
key to Cumberland, where the width is 100 yards, and 
up Mattapony to within two miles of Frazer's ferry, 
wiiere it becomes 2 1-2 fathom deep, and holds that 
about 5 miles. Pamunkey is then capable of naviga- 
tion for loaded flats to Brock man's bridge, fifty miles 
above Hanover town, and Mattapony to Downer's 
bridge, 70 miles above its mouth. 

Piankatank, the little rivers making out of Mobjack 
Bay and those of the Eastern >S7io?*e, receive only very 
small vessels, and these ran but enter them. 

Rappahannock affords 4 fathom water to Hobb's hole, 
and 2 fathom thence to Fredericksburg. 

Patowmac is 7 1-2 miles wide at the mouth ; 4 1-2 at 



5 



Nomony bay; 3 at Aquia; 1 1-2 at Hallowing point; 
1 1-4 at Alexandria. Its soundings are, 7 fathom at 
the mouth ; 5 at St George's island ; 4 1-2 at Lower 
Mathodic ; 3 at Swan's point, and thence up to Alex- 
andria ; thence ten feet water to the falls, which are 13 
miles above Alexandria. These falls are 15 miles in 
length, and of very great descent, and the navigation 
above them for batteaux and canoes, is so much inter- 
rupted as to be little used. It is, however, used in a 
small degree up the Cohongoronta branch as far as fort 
Cumberland, which was at the mouth of Willis's creek ; 
and is capable, at no great expense, of being rendered 
very practicable. The Shenandoah branch interlocks 
with James river about the Blue Ridge, and may per- 
haps in future be opened. 

The Mississippi will be one of the principal channels 
of future commerce for the country westward of the 
Alleghaney. From the mouth of this river to where it 
receives the Ohio, is 1000 miles by water, but only 500 
by land passing through the Chickasaw country. From 
the mouth of the Ohio to that of the Missouri, is 230 
miles by water, and 140 by land, from thence to the 
mouth of Illinois river, is about 25 miles. The Missis- 
sippi, below the mouth of the Missouri, is always mud- 
dy, and abounding with sand bars, which frequently 
change their places. However, it carries 15 feet water 
to the mouth of the Ohio, to which place it is from 
one and a half to two miles wide, and thence to 
Kaskaskia, from one mile to a mile and a quarter wide. 
Its current is so rapid, that it never can be stemmed by 
the force of the wind alone, acting on sails. Any ves- 
sel, however, navigated with oars, may come up at any 
time, and receive much aid from the wind. A batteaux 
passes from the mouth of Ohio, to the mouth of Mis- 
sissippi in three weeks, and is two to three months get- 
ting up again. During its floods, which are periodical 
as those of the Nile, the largest vessels may pass down 
it, if their steerage can be ensured. These floods begin 
in April, and the river returns into its banks early in 
August. The inundation extends further on the west 
1* 



6 



em than eastern side, covering the lands in some pla- 
ces for 50 miles from its hanks. Above the mouth of 
the Missouri it becomes much such a river as the Ohio, 
like it clear, and gentle in its current, not quile so wide, 
the period of its floods nearly the same, hut not rising 
to so great a height. The streets of the village -at Co- 
hoes are not more than 10 feet above the ordinary level 
of the water, and yet were never overflowed. Its bed 
deepens every year. Colioes, in the memory of many 
people now living, was insulated by every flood of the 
river. What was the eastern channel has now become 
a lake, 9 miles in 'length and one in width, into which 
the river at this day never flows. This river yields tur- 
tle of a peculiar kind, perch, trout, gar, pike, mullets, 
herrings, carps, spatula-fish of 501b. weight, cat-fish of 
3001b. weight, buffalo fish and sturgeon. Alligators or 
crocodiles have been seen as high up as the Acansas. 
It also abounds in herons, cranes, ducks, brant, geese 
and swans. Its passage is commanded by a fort estab- 
lished by this state, five miles below the mouth of Ohio, 
and ten miles above the Carolina boundary. 

The Missouri, since the treaty of Paris, the Illinois 
and Northern branches of the Ohio, since the cession 
to Congress, are no longer within our limits. Yet hav- 
ing been so heretofore, and still opening to us channels 
of extensive communication with the western and 
northwestern country, they shall be noted in their or- 
der. 

The Missouri is, in fact, the principal river, contribut- 
ing more to the common stream than does the Missis- 
sippi, even after its junction with the Illinois, ft is 
remarkably cold, muddy and rapid. Its overflowings 
are considerable. They happen during the months of 
June and July. Their commencement being so much 
later than those of the Mississippi, would induce a be- 
lief that the sources of the Missouri, are northward of 
those of the Mississippi, unless we suppose that the 
cold increases again with the ascent of the land from 
the Mississippi west ward ly. That this ascent is great, 
is proved by the rapidity of the river. Six miles above 



T 



the mouth it is brought within the compass of a quar- 
ter of a mile's width : yet the Spanish merchants at 
Paucore, or St Louis, say they go two thousand miles 
up it. Jt heads far westward of the Rio Norte, or 
Worth River. There is in the villages of Kaskaskia, 
Cohoes and St Vincennes, no inconsiderable quantity 
of plate, said to have been plundered during the last 
war by the Indians from the churches and private 
houses of Santa Fe, on the North river, and brought to 
the villages for sale. From the mouth of Ohio to San- 
ta Fe are forty days journey, or about 1000 miles. 
What is the shortest distance between the navigable 
waters of the Missouri, and those of the North river, 
or how far, this is navigable above Santa Fe, I could 
never learn. From Santa Fe to its mouth in the Gulph 
of Mexico is about 1200 miles. The road from New 
Orleans to Mexico crosses this river at the post of Rio 
Norte, 800 miles below Santa Fe : and from this post 
to New Orleans is about 1200 miles: thus making 2000 
miles between Santa Fe and New Orleans, passing 
down the North river, Red river and Mississippi ; where- 
as it is 2230 through the Missouri and Mississippi. 
From the same post of Rio Norte, passing near the 
mines of La Sierra and Laiguana, which are between 
the North River and the river Salina to Sartilla, is 375 
miles ; and from thence, passing the mines of Charcas, 
Zaccatecas and Potosi, to the city of Mexico is 375 
miles ; in all, 1550 miles from Sante Fe to the city of 
Mexico. From New Orleans to the city of Mexico is 
about 1950 miles : the roads after setting out from the 
Red river, near Natchitoches, keeping generally paral- 
lel with the coast, and about two hundred miles from 
it, till it enters the city of Mexico. 

The Illinois is a fine river, clear, gentle, and without 
rapids; insomuch that it is navigable for batteaux to its 
source. From thence is a portage of two miles only 
to the Chickago, which affords a batteau navigation 
of 10 miles to its entrance into Lake Michigan. The 
Illinois, about 10 miles above its mouth, is 300 yards 
wide. 



8 

The Kaskaskia is one hundred yards wide at its en* 
t ranee into the Mississippi and preserves that breadth 
to the Buffalo plains, 70 miles above. So far also it is 
navigable for loaded batteaux, and perhaps much fur- 
ther. It is not rapid. 

The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth. Its 
current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth, and 
unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only 
excepted. 

It is 1-4 of a mile wide at fort Pitt : 

500 yards at the mouth of the Great Kan ha way : 

1 mile and 25 poles at Louisville : 

1-4 of a mile on the rapids, three or four miles below 
Louisville. 

1-2 a mile where the low country begins which is 20 
miles above Green river : 

1 1-4 at the receipt of the Tanissee : 
And a mile wide at the mouth. 

Its length, as measured according to its meanders by 



Capt. Hutchins, is as follows : 

From Fort Pitt 

To Log's Town 184 Little Kanhaway 12£ 

Big Beaver Creek 10| Hockhocking 16 

Little Beaver Creek 13 J Great Kanhaway 824 

Yellow Creek 11| Guiandot 43! 

Two Creeks 21| Sandy Creek 14$ 

Long Reach 53| Sioto 48£ 

End Long Reach 16J Little Miami 126i 

, Muskingum 25 h Licking Creek 8 

Great Miami 26| Wabash . 97^ 

Big Bones 32i Big Cave 42| 

Kentucky 44^ Shawanee River 52-J 

Rapids 77 i Cherokee River 13 

Low Country 1551 Massac 11 

Buffalo River 64f Mississippi 46 



1188 miles. 

In common winter and spring tides it affords 15 feet 
water to Louisville, 10 feet to Le Tarte's rapids, 40 
miles above the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, and a 



9 



sufficiency at all times for ligbtbatteaux, and canoes to 
Fort Pitt. The rapids are in latitude 38° 8'. The in- 
undations of this river begin about the last of March, 
and subside in July. During these a first rate man of 
war may be carried from Louisville to New Orleans, 
if the sudden turns of the river and the strength of 
its current will admit a safe steerage. The rapids at 
Louisville descend about 30 feet in a length of a mile 
and a half. The bed of the river there is a solid rock, 
and is divided by an island into two branches, the 
southern of which is about 200 yards wide, and is dry 
four months in the year. The bed of the northern 
branch is worn into channels by the constant course of 
the water, and attrition of the pebble stones carried on 
with that, so as to be passable for batteaux through the 
greater part of the year. Yet it is thought that the 
southern arm may be the most easily opened for con- 
stant navigation. The rise of the waters in these rap- 
ids does not exceed 10 or 12 feet. A part of this island 
is so high as to have been never overflowed, and to 
command the settlement at Louisville, which is opposite 
to it. The fort, however, is situated at the head of the 
falls. The ground on the south side rises very gradu- 
ally. 

The Tanissee, Cherokee or Hogohege river is 600 
yards wide at its mouth, 1-4 of a mile at the mouth of 
llolston, and 200 yards at Chotee, which is 20 miles 
above Holston, and 300 miles above the mouth of the 
Tanissee. This river crosses the southern boundary of 
Virginia, 58 miles from the Mississippi. Its current is 
moderate. It is navigable for loaded boats of any bur- 
den to the Muscle shoals, where the river passes 
through the Cumberland mountain. These shoals are 
6 or 8 miles long, passable downwards for loaded ca- 
noes, but not upwards, unless there be a swell in the ri- 
ver. Above these the navigation for loaded canoes and 
batteaux continues to the Long Island. This river has 
its inundations also. Above the Chickamogga towns is 
a whirlpool called the sucking pot, which takes in 
trunks of trees or boats, and throws them out again 



10 



half a mile below. It is avoided by keeping very close 
to the bank, on the south side. There are but a few 
miles portage between a branch of this river and the 
navigable waters of the river Mobile, which runs into 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

Cumberland, or Shawanee river, intersects the bound- 
ary between Virginia and North Carolina 67 miles from 
the Mississippi, and again 198 miles from the same riv- 
er, a little above the entrance of Qbey's river, into the 
Cumberland. Its clear fork crosses the same bounda- 
ry about 300 miles from the Mississippi. Cumberland 
is a very gentle stream, navigable for loaded batteaux 
800 miles, without interruption ; then intervenes some 
rapids of 15 miles in length, after which it is again na- 
vigable 70 miles upwards, which brings you within 10 
miles of the Cumberland mountains. It is about 120 
yards wide through its whole course, from the head of 
its navigation to its mouth. 

The Wabash is a very beautiful river, 400 yards wide 
at the mouth, and 300 at St Vincennes, which is a post 
100 miles above the mouth, in a direct line. Within 
this space there are two small rapids, which give very 
little obstruction to the navigation. It is 400 yards 
wide at the mouth, and navigable 30 leagues upwards 
for canoes and small boats. From the mouth of Maple 
river to that of Eel river is about 80 miles in a direct 
line, the river continuing navigable, and from one to 
two hundred yards in width. The Eel river is 150 
yards wide, and affords at all times navigation for pe- 
riaguas, to within 18 miles of the Miami of the Lake. 
The Wabash, from the mouth of Eel river to Little 
river, a distance of 50 miles direct, is interrupted with 
frequent rapids and shoals, which obstruct the naviga- 
tion except in a swell. Little river affords navigation, 
during a swell to within 3 miles of the Miami, which 
thence affords a similar navigation into Lake Erie, 100 
miles distant in a direct line. The Wabash overflows 
periodically in correspondence with the Ohio, and in 
some places two leagues from its banks. 

Green river is navigable for loaded batteaux at all 



11 



times 50 miles upwards; but it is then interrupted by 
impassable rapids, above which the navigation again 
commences, and continues good 30 or 40 miles to the 
month of Barren river. 

Kentucky River is 90 yards wide at the mouth, and 
also at Boonsborougb, 80 miles above. It affords a 
navigation for loaded batteaux 180 miles in a direct 
line, in the winter tides. 

The Great Miami of the Ohio, is 200 yards wide at 
the mouth. At the Picawee towns, 75 miles above, it 
is reduced to 30 yards ; it is, nevertheless, navigable for 
loaded canoes 50 miles above these towns. The port- 
age from its western branch into the Miami of Lake 
Erie is 5 miles : that from its eastern branch into San- 
dusky river, is of 9 miles. 

Salt River is at all times navigable for loaded bat- 
teaux 70 or 80 miles. It is 80 yards wide at its mouth, 
and keeps that width to its fork, 25 miles above. 

The Little Miami of the Ohio, is 60 or 70 yards wide 
at its mouth, 60 miles to its source, and affords no na- 
vigation. 

The Sioto is 250 yards wide at its mouth, which is 
in latitude 38° 22'. and at the Saltlick towns, 200 miles 
above the mouth, it is yet 100 yards wide. To these 
towns it is navigable for loaded batteaux, and its east- 
ern branch affords navigation almost to its source. 

Great Sandy River is about 60 yards wide, and navi- 
gable 60 miles for loaded batteaux. 

Guiandot is about the width of the river last mention- 
ed, but is more rapid. It may be navigated by canoes 
60 miles. 

The Great Kanhaway is a river of considerable note 
for the fertility of its lands, and still more, as leading 
towards the head waters of James river. Nevertheless, 
it is doubtful whether its great and numerous rapids 
will admit a navigation, but at an expense to which it 
will require ages to render its inhabitants equal. The 
great obstacles begin at what are called the Great 
Falls, 90 miles above the mouth, below which are only 
5 or 6 rapids, and these passable, with some difficulty, 



12 



even at low water. From the falis to the mouth of 
Greenbriar is 100 miles, and thence to the lead mines 
120. Jt is 280 yards wide at its mouth. 

Hockhocking is 80 yards wide at its mouth, and yk'ds 
navigation for loaded batteaux to the Pressplace, 60 
miles above its mouth. 

The Little Kanhaivay\s 150 yards wide at the mouth. 
It yields a navigation of 10 miles only. Perhaps its 
northern branch called Junius's creek, which interlocks 
with the western of Monongahela, may one day admit 
a shorter passage from the latter into the Ohio. 

The Muskingum is 280 yards wide at its mouth, and 
200 yards at the lower Indian towns, 150 miles up- 
wards. It is navigable for small batteaux to within 
one mile of a navigable part of Cayahoga river, which 
runs into Lake Erie. 

At Fort Pitt the River Ohio loses its name, branching 
into the Monongahela and Alleghnney. 

The Monongahela is 400 yards wide at its mouth. 
From thence is 12 or 15 miles to the mouth of Yoho- 
ganey where it is 300 yards wide, Thence to Red- 
stone by water is 50 miles, by land 30. Then to the 
mouth of Cheat river by water 40 miles, by land 28, 
the width continuing at 300 yards, and the navigation 
good for boats. Thence the width is about 200 yards 
to the western fork, 50 miles higher, and the naviga- 
tion frequently interrupted by rapids, which however 
with a swell of two or three feet become very passable 
for boats. It then admits light boats, except in dry sea- 
sons, 65 miles further to the head of Tygart's valley, 
presenting only some small rapids and falls of one or 
two feet perpendicular, and lessening in its width to 20 
yards. The Western fork is navigable in the winter 10 
or 15 miles towards the northern of the Little Kanha- 
way, and will admit a good wagon road to it. The 
Yahoganey is the principal branch of this river. It 
passes through the Laurel moi :itain, about 30 miles 
from its mouth ; is so far from 300 to 150 yards wide, 
and the navigation much obstructed in dry weather 
by rapids and shoals. In its passage through the moun- 



13 



tain it makes very great falls, admitting no navigation 
for 10 miles to the Turkey Foot. Thence to the Great 
Crossing about 20 miles, it is again navigable, except 
in dry seasons, and at this place is 200 yards wide. 
The sources of this river are divided from those of the 
Patowmac by the Alleghaney mountain. From the falls, 
where it intersects the Laurel mountain, to Fort Cum- 
berland, the head of the Navigation on the Patowmac, 
is 40 miles of very mountainous road. Wills's creek, at 
the mouth of which was Fort Cumberland, is 30 or 40 
yards wide, but affords no navigation as yet. Cheat 
river, another considerable branch of the Monongahela, 
is 200 yards wide at its mouth, and 100 yards at the 
Dunkar(Ps settlement, 50 miles higher. It is navigable 
for boats, except in dry seasons. The boundary be- 
tween Virginia and Pennsylvania crosses it about 3 or 
4 miles above its mouth. 

The Alleghaney river, with a slight swell, affords navi- 
gation for light batteaux to Venango, at the mouth of 
French creek, where it is 200 yards wide, and is prac- 
tised even to Le Boeuf, from whence there is a portage 
of 15 miles to Presque Isle on the Lake Erie. 

The country watered by the Mississippi and its east- 
ern branches, constitutes five-eighths of the United 
States, two of which five-eighths are occupied by the 
Ohio and its waters: the residuary streams which run 
into the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, and the St Lau- 
rence, water the remaining three-eighths. 

Before we quit the subject of the western waters, 
we will take a view of their principal connexions with 
the Atlantic. These are three ; the Hudson's river, the 
Patowmac, and the Mississippi itself. Down the last 
will pass all heavy commodities. But the navigation 
through the Gulph of Mexico is so dangerous, and that 
up the Mississippi so difficult and tedious, that it is 
thought probable that European merchandise will not 
return through that channel. It is most likely that 
flour, timber, and other heavy articles will be floated 
on rafts, which will themselves be an article for sale as 
well as their loading, the navigators returning by land 



14 



or in light batteaux. There will therefore be a com- 
petition between the Hudson and Patowmac rivers 
for the residue of the commerce of all the country west- 
ward of Lake Erie, on the waters of the lakes, of the 
Ohio, and upper parts of the Mississippi. To go to 
New-York, that part of the trade which comes from 
the lakes or their waters must first be brought into 
Lake Erie. Between Lake Superior and its waters 
and Huron are the rapids of St Mary, which will per- 
mit boats to pass, but not larger vessels. Lakes Huron 
and Michigan afford communication with Lake Erie 
by vessels of 8 feet draught. That part of the trade 
which comes from the waters of the Mississippi must 
pass from them through some portage into the waters 
of the lakes. The portage from the Illinois river into 
a water of Michigan is of one mile only. From the 
Wabash, Miami, Muskingum, or Alleghaney, are por- 
tages into the waters of Lake Erie, of from one to 15 
miles. When the commodities are brought into, and 
have -passed through Lake Erie, there is between that 
and Ontario an interruption by the falls of Niagara, 
where the portage is of eight miles ; and between On- 
tario and the Hudson's river are portages at the falls 
of Onondago, a little above Oswego, of a quarter of a 
mile ; from Wood creek to the Mohawks river two 
miles ; at the little falls of the Mohawks river half a 
mile, and from Schenectady to Albany 16 miles. Be- 
sides the increase of expense occasioned by frequent 
change of carriage, there is an increased risk of pillage 
produced by committing merchandise to a greater num- 
ber of hands successively. The Patowmac offers itself 
under the following circumstances. For the trade of 
the lakes and their waters westward of Lake Erie, 
when it shall have entered that lake, it must coast 
along its southern shore, on account of the number and 
excellence of its harbours ; the northern, though short- 
est, having few harbours, and these unsafe. Having 
reached Cayahoga, to proceed on to New- York it will 
have 825 miles and five portages; whereas it is but 
425 miles to Alexandria, its emporium on the Patow- 
mac, if it turns into the Cayahoga, and passes through 



15 

that. Big-beaver, Ohio, Yohoganey, (or Monongahela 
and Cheat) and Patowmac, and there are but two por- 
tages ; the first of which between Cayahoga and Bea- 
ver may be removed by uniting the sources of these 
waters, which are lakes in the neighbourhood of each 
other, and in a champaign country ; the other from the 
waters of Ohio to Patowmac will be from 15 to 40 
miles, according to the trouble which shall be taken to 
approach the two navigations. For the trade of the 
Ohio, or that which shall come into it from its own 
waters or the Mississippi, it is nearer through the Pa- 
towmac to Alexandria than to New-York by 580 miles, 
and it is interrupted by one portage only. There is 
another circumstance of difference too. The lakes 
themselves never freeze, but the communications be- 
tween them freeze, and the Hudson's river is itself shut 
up by the ice three months in the year ; whereas the 
channel to the Chesapeake leads directly into a warmer 
climate. The southern parts of it very rarely freeze 
at all, and whenever the northern do, it is so near the 
sources of the rivers, that the frequent floods to which 
they are there liable, break up the ice immediately, so 
that vessels may pass through the whole winter, sub- 
ject only to accidental and short delays. Add to all 
this, that in case of a war with our neighbours, the 
Anglo-Americans or the Indians, the route to New- 
York becomes a frontier through almost its whole 
length, and all commerce through it ceases from that 
moment. But the channel to New-York is already 
known to practice; whereas the upper waters of the 
Ohio and the Patowmac, and the great falls of the 
latter, are yet to be cleared of their fixed obstruc- 
tions. (A.) 



QUERY III. 

A notice of the best Sea-ports of the state, and how 
big are the vessels they can receive ? 



16 



Having no ports but our rivers and creeks, this Qitery 
has been answered under the preceding one. 



QUERY IV. 

A notice of its Mountains? 

For the particular geography of our mountains I 
must refer to Fi°y and Jefferson's map of Virginia ; 
and to Evans's analysis of his map of America, for a 
more philosophical view of them than is to be found 
in any other work. It is worthy of notice, that our 
mountains are not solitary and scattered confusedly 
over the face of the country ; but that they commence 
at about 150 miles from the sea-coast, are disposed in 
ridges one behind another, running nearly parallel 
with the sea-coast, though rather approaching it as 
they advance north-eastward ly. To the south- west, 
as the tract of country between the sea-coast and the 
Mississippi becomes narrower, the mountains converge 
into a single ridge, which, as it approaches the Gulph 
of Mexico, subsides into pla ; n country, and gives rise 
to some of the waters of that gulph, and particularly to 
a river called the Apalachicola, probably from the 
Apalachies, an Indian nation formerly residing on it. 
Hence the mountains giving rise to that river, and seen 
from its various parts, were called the Apalachian 
mountains, being in fact the end or termination only of 
the great ridges passing through the continent. Euro- 
pean geographers however extended the name north- 
wardly as far as the mountains extended ; some giving 
it, after their separation into different ridges, to the 
Blue ridge, others to the North mountain, others to the 
Alleghaney, others to the Laurel ridge, as may be seen 
in their different maps. But the fact I believe is, that 
none of these ridges were ever known by that name to 
the inhabitants, either native or emigrant, but as they 
saw them so called in European maps. In the same 
direction generally are the veins of limestone, coal, and 



17 



other minerals hitherto discovered: and so range the 
falls of our great rivers. But the courses of the great 
rivers are at right angles with these. James and Pa- 
towmac penetrate through all the ridges of mountains 
eastward of the Alleghaney ; that is broken by no 
water course. It is in fact the spine of the country 
between the Atlantic on one side, and the Mississippi 
and St Laurence on the other. The passage of the 
Patowmac through the Blue riclge is perhaps one of 
the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on 
a very high point of land. On your right comes up 
the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the 
mountain an hundred miles to seek a vent. On your 
left approaches the Patowmac, in quest of a passage 
also. In the moment of their junction they rush to- 
gether against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass 
off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries 
our senses into the opinion, that this earth has been 
created in time, that the mountains were formed first, 
that the rivers began to flow afterwards, that in this 
place particularly they have been dammed up by the 
Blue ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean 
which filled the whole valley; that continuing to rise 
they have at length broken over at this spot, and have 
torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. 
The piles of rock on each hand, but particularly on the 
Shenandoah, the evident marks of their disrupture and 
avulsion from their beds by the most powerful agents 
of nature, corroborate the impression. But the distant 
finishing which nature has given to the picture, is of a 
very different character. It is a true contrast to the 
foreground. It as placid and delightful, as that is 
wild and tremendous. For the mountain being cloven 
asunder, she presents to your eye, through the cleft, a 
small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite dis- 
tance in the plain country, inviting you, as it were, 
from the riot and tumult roaring around, to pass 
through the breach and participate of the calm below. 
Here the eye ultimately composes itself ; and that way 
too the road happens actually to lead. You cross the 
2* 



18 



Patowmac above the junction, pass along its side 
thr< ugh th3 1 a-e of the mountain for three miles, its 
terrible pre ipic^s hanging in fragments over you, and 
within about 20. miles reach Fredericktown, and the 
fine country round that. This scene is w orth a voyage 
across the Atlantic. Yet here, as in the neighbourhood 
of the Natural Bridge, are people who have passed 
their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never 
been to survey these monuments of a war between 
rivers and mountains, which must have shaken the 
earth itself to its centre. (B.) 

The height of our mountains has not yet been esti- 
mated with any degree of exactness. The Alleghaney 
being the great ridge which divides the waters of the 
Atlantic from those of the Mississippi, its summit is 
doubtless more elevated above the ocean than that of 
any other mountain. But its relative height, compared 
with the base on which it stands, is not so great as that 
of some others, the country rising behind the succes- 
sive ridges like the steps of stairs. The mountains of 
the Blue ridge, and of these the Peaks of Otter, are 
thought to be of a greater height, measured from their 
base, than any others in our country, and perhaps in 
North American From data, which may found a tole- 
rable conjecture, we suppose the highest peak to be 
about 4000 feet perpendicular, which is not a fifth part 
of the height of the mountains of South America, nor 
one third of the height which would be necessary in 
our latitude to preserve ice in the open air unmelted 
through the year. The ridge of mountains next beyond 
the Blue ridge, called by us the North mountain, is of 
the greatest extent; for which reason they were named 
by the Indians the Endless mountains. 

A substance, supposed to be Pumice, found floating 
on the Mississippi, has induced a conjecture, that there 
is a volcano on some of its waters : and as these are 
mostly known to their sources, except the Missouri, 
our expectations of verifying the conjecture would o. 
course be led to the mountains which divide the waters 
of the Mexican Gulf from those of the South Sea; but 



19 



no volcano having ever yet been known at such a dis- 
tance from the sea, we must rather suppose that this 
floating substance has been erroneously deemed Pumice. 



QUERY V. 

Its Cascades and Caverns? 

The only remarkable Cascade in this country, is that 
of the Falling Spring in Augusta. It is a water of 
James* river, where it is called Jackson's river, rising 
in the warm spring mountains, about twenty miles 
south-west of the warm spring, and flowing into that 
valley. About three quarters of a mile from its source, 
it falls over a rock 2(0 feet into the valley below. The 
sheet of water is broken in its breadth by the rock, in 
two or three places, but not at all in its height. Be- 
tween the sheet and the rock, at the bottom you may 
walk across dry. This cataract will bear no compari- 
son with that of Niagara, as to the quantity of water 
composing it; the sheet being only 12 or 15 feet wide 
above, and somewhat more spread below ; but it is half 
as high again, the latter being only 156 feet, according 
to the mensuration made by order of M. Vaudreuil, 
Governor of Canada, and 130 according to a more 
recent account. 

In the lime-stone country, there are many caverns of 
very considerable extent. The most noted is called 
Madison's Cave, and is on the north side of the Blue 
ridge, near the intersection of the Rockingham and 
Augusta line with the south fork of the southern river 
of Shenandoah. It is in a hill of about 200 feet per- 
pendicular height, the ascent of which, on one side, is 
so steep, that you may pitch a biscuit from its summit 
into the river which washes its base. The entrance of 
the cave is, in this side, about two thirds of the way up. 
It extends into the earth about 300 feet, branching into 
subordinate caverns, sometimes ascending a little, but 
more generally descending, and at length terminates, 



20 



in two different places, at basins of water of unknown 
extent, and which I should judge to be nearly on a 
level with the water of the river ; however, I do not 
think they are formed by refluent water from that, be- 
cause they are never turbid ; because they do not rise and 
fall in correspondence with that in times of flood, or of 
drought; and because the water is always cool. It is 
probably one of the many reservoirs with which the 
interior parts of the earth are supposed to abound, and 
which yields supplies to the fountains of water, distin- 
guished from others only by its being accessible. The 
vault of this cave is of solid lime-stone, from 20 to 40 
or 50 feet high, through which water is continually per- 
colating. This, trickling down the sides of the cave, 
has incrusted them over in the form of elegant drapery ; 
and dripping from the top of the vault generates on 
that, and on the base below, stalactites of a conical 
form, some of which have met, and formed massive 
columns. 

Another of these caves is near the North mountain, 
in the county of Frederick, on the lands of Mr Zane. 
The entrance into this is on the top of an extensive 
ridge. You descend 30 or 40 feet, as into a well, from 
whence the cave then extends, nearly horizontally, 400 
feet into the earth, preserving a breadth of from 20 to 
50 feet, and a height of from 5 to 12 feet. After enter- 
ing this cave a few feet, the mercury, which in the 
open air was at 50°. rose to 57°. of Fahrenheit's ther- 
mometer, answering to 11°. of Reaumur's, and it con- 
tinued at that to the remotest parts of the cave. The 
uniform temperature of the cellars of the observatory 
of Paris, which are ninety feet deep, and of all subter- 
ranean cavities of any depth, where no cbymical agents 
may be supposed to produce a factitious heat, has been 
found to be 10°. of Reaumur, equal to 54 1-2°. of 
Fahrenheit. The temperature of the cave above men- 
tioned so nearly corresponds with this, that the differ- 
ence may be ascribed to a difference of instruments. 

At the Panther gap, in the ridge which divides the 
waters of the Cow and the Calf pasture, is what is cal- 



21 



led the Blowing cave. It is in the side of a hill, is of 
about 100 feet diameter, and emits constantly a current 
of air, of such force, as to keep the weeds prostrate to 
the distance of twenty yards before it. This current is 
strongest in dry, frosty weather, and in long spells of 
rain weakest. Regular inspirations and expirations of 
air, by caverns and fissures, have been probably enough 
accounted for, by supposing them combined with in- 
termitting fountains; as they must of course inhale air 
while their reservoirs are emptying themselves, and 
again emit it while they are filling. But a constant is- 
sue of air, only varying in its force as the weather is 
drier or damper, will require a new hypothesis. There 
is another blowing cave in the Cumberland mountain, 
about a mile from where it crosses the Carolina line. 
All we know of this is, that it is not constant, and that 
a fountain of water issues from it. 

The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature's 
works, though not comprehended under the present 
head, must not be pretermitted. It is on the ascent of 
a hill, which seems to have been cloven through its 
length by some great convulsion. The fissure, just at 
the bridge, is by some admeasurements, 270 feet deep, 
by others only 205. It is about 45 feet wide at the bot- 
tom, and 90 feet at the top: this of course determines 
the length of the bridge, and its height from the water, 
its breadth in the middle is about 60 feet, but more at 
the ends, and the thickness of the mass, at the summit 
of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thickness is 
constituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to 
many large trees. The residue, with the hill on both 
sides, is one solid rock of lime-stone. — The arch ap- 
proaches the semi-eliptical form ; but the larger axis 
of the elipses, which would be the cord of the arch, 
is many times longer than the transverse. Though the 
sides of this bridge are provided in some parts with a 
parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have resolution to 
walk to them, and look over into the abyss. You in- 
voluntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the 
parapet and peep over it. Looking down from this 



22 



height ahout a minute, gave me a violent head-ache. 
If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, 
that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It 
is impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime, 
to be felt beyond what they are here : so beautiful an 
arch, so elevated, so light, and springing as it were up 
to heaven ! the rapture of the spectator is really inde- 
scribable ! The fissure continuing narrow, deep and 
straight, for a considerable distance above and below 
the bridge, opens a short but very pleasing view of the 
North mountain on one side, and Blue Ridge on the 
other, at the distance each of them of about five miles. 
This bridge is in the County of Rockbridge, to which 
it has given name, and affords a public and commodi- 
ous passage over a valley, which cannot be crossed 
elsewhere for a considerable distance. The stream 
passing under it is called Cedar-creek. It is a water of 
James' river, and sufficient in the driest seasons to turn 
a grist mill, though its fountain is not more than two 
miles above.* 

* Don Ulloa mentions a break, similar to this, in the province 
of Angaraez, in South America. It is from 16 to 22 feet wide, 
111 feet deep, and 1. 3 miles continuance, English measure. Its 
breadth at top is not sensibly greater than at bottom. But the 
following fact is remarkable, and will furnish some light for con- 
jecturing the probable origin of our natural bridge. 4 Esta caxa, 
6 cauce esta. cortada en pena viva con tanta precision, que las 
desigualdades del un lado entrantes corresponden a. las del otro 
lado salientes, como si aquella altura se hubiese abierto expre- 
samente, con sus bueltas y tortuosidades, para darle transito a. 
los aguas por entre los dos murallones que la forman ; siendo 
tal su igualdad, que si illegasen a juntarse se endentarian uno 
con otro sin dexar hueco.' Not. Amer. II. § 10. Don Ulloa 
inclines to the opinion, that this channel has been effected by 
the wearing of the water which runs through it, rather than 
that the mountain should have been broken open by any con- 
vulsion of nature. But if it had been worn by the running of 
water, would not the rocks which form the sides, have been 
worn plain ? or if, meeting in some parts with veins of harder 
stone, the water had left prominences on the one side, would 
not the same cause have sometimes, or perhaps generally, oc- 
casioned prominences on the other side also? Yet Don Ulloa 



23 



QUERY VI. 

A notice of the mines and other subterraneous rich-* 
es ; its trees, plants, fruits, &c ? 

I knew a single instance of gold found in this state, x 
It was interspersed in small specks through a lump of \ 
ore, of about four pound? weight, which yielded seven- I 
teen penny weight of gold, of extraordinary ductility, J 
This ore was found on the north side of Rappahanoc, j 
about four miles below the falls. I never heard of any i 
other indication of gold in its neighbourhood. 

On the great Kanhaway, opposite to the mouth of « 
Cripple creek, and about twenty-five miles from our \ 
southern boundary, in the county of Montgomery, are \ 
mines of lead. The metal is mixed, sometimes with S 
earth, and sometimes with rock, which requires the force / 
of gunpowder to open it ; and is accompanied with a por- 
tion of silver, too small to be worth separation under any 
process hitherto attempted there. The proportion yielded 
is from 50 to 801b. of pure metal from 1001b. of washed 
ore. The most common is that of 60 to the 1001b. The 
veins are at sometimes most flattering ; at others they 
disappear suddenly and totally. They enter the side of 
the hill, and proceed horizontally. Two of them are 
wrought at present by the public, the best of which is 100 

tells us, that on the other side there are always corresponding 
cavities, and that these tally with the prominences so perfectly, 
that, were the two sides to come together, they would fit in all 
their indentures, without leaving any void. I think that this 
does not resemble the effect of running water, but iooks rather 
as if the two sides had parted asunder. The sides of the break, 
over which is the natural bridge of Virginia, consisting of a veiny 
rock which yields to time, the correspondence between the salient 
and re-entering inequalities, if it existed at all, has now disap- 
peared. This break has the advantage of the one described by 
Don Ulloa in its finest circumstance ; no portion in that instance 
having held together, during the separation of the other parts, so 
as to form a bridge over the abyss. 



24 



yards under the hill. These would employ about 50 la- 
bourers to advantage. We have not, however, more 
than 30 generally, and these cultivate their own corn. 
They have produced 60 tons of lead in the year ; but 
the general quantity is frorh 20 to 25 tons. The pre- 
sent furnace is a mile from the ore bank, and on the op- 
posite side of the river. The ore is first, wagoned to 
the river, a quarter of a mile, then laden on board of 
canoes, and carried across the river, which is there 
about 200 yards wide, and then again taken into wa- 
gons and carried to the furnace. This mode was origin- 
ally adopted, that they might avail themselves of a 
good situation on a creek, lor a pounding mill: but it 
would be easy to have the fYtrnace and pounding mill on 
the same side of the river, which would yield water, 
without any dam, by a canal of about half a mile in 
length. From the furnace the lead is transported 130 
miles along a good road, leading through the peaks of 
Otter to Lynch's ferry, or Winston's on James' river, 
from whence it is carried by water about the same dis- 
tance to VVestham. This land carriage may be greatly 
shortened, by delivering the lead on James' river, 
above the Blue ridge, from whence a ton weight has 
been brought on two canoes. The great Kanhaway 
has considerable falls in the neighbourhood of the 
mines. About seven miles below are three falls, of 
three or four feet perpendicular each ; and three miles 
above is a rapid of three miles continuance, which has 
been compared in its descent to the great falls of 
James' river. Yet it is the opinion, that they may be 
laid open for useful navigation, so as to reduce very 
much the portage between the Kanhaway and James' 
rivers. 

A valuable lead mine is said to have been lately 
discovered in Cumberland, below the mouth of Red 
river. The greatest, however, known in the western 
country, are on the Mississippi, extending from the 
mouth of Rock river 150 miles upwards. These are 
not wrought, the lead used in that country being from 
the banks on the Spanish side of the Mississippi, oppo- 
site to Kaskaskia. 



25 



A mine of copper was once opened in the county of 
Amherst, on the north side of James' river, and anoth- 
er in the opposite country, on the south side. However, 
either from bad management or the poverty of the 
veins, they were discontinued. We are told of a rich 
mine of native copper on the Ouabache, below the 
upper Wiaw. 

The mines of iron worked at present are Callaway's, 
Ross's, and Ballendine's, on the south side of James' 
river; Old's on the north side, in Albemarle; Miller's 
in Augusta, and Zane's in Frederic. These two last 
are in the valley between the Blue ridge and North 
mountain. Callaway's, Ross's, Miller's, and Zane's, 
make about 150 tons of bar iron each, in the year. 
Ross's makes also about 1600 tons of pig iron annually ; 
Ballendine's 1000; Callaway's, Miller's, and Zane's, 
about 600 each. Besides these, a forge of Mr Hunter's, 
at Fredericksburg, makes about 300 tons a year of bar 
iron, from pigs imported from Maryland ; and Taylor's 
forge on Neapsco of Patowmac, works in the same 
way, but to what extent 1 am not informed. The indi- 
cations of iron in other places are numerous, and dis- 
persed through all the middle country. The toughness 
of the cast iron of Ross's and Zane's furnaces is very 
remarkable. Pots and other utensils, cast thinner than 
usual, of this iron, may be safely thrown into, or out of 
the wagons in which they are transported. Salt pans 
made of the same, and no longer wanted for that pur- 
pose, cannot be broken up, in order to be melted again, 
unless previously drilled in many parts. 

In the western country,, we are told of iron mines 
between the Muskingum and Ohio ; of others on Ken- 
tucky, between the Cumberland and Barren rivers, be- 
tween Cumberland and Tannissee, on Reedy creek, near 
the Long island, and on Chestnut creek, a branch of the 
Great Kanhaway, near where it crosses the Carolina 
line. What are called the iron banks, on the Missis- 
sippi, are believed, by a good judge, to have no iron in 
them. In general, from what is hitherto known of that 
country, it seems to want iron. 
3 



26 



Considerable quantities of black lead are taken occa- 
sionally for use from Winterham, in the county of 
Amelia. I am not able, however, to give a particular 
state of the mine. There is no work established at it ; 
those who want, going and procuring it for themselves. 

The country on James' river, from 15 to 20 miles 
above Richmond, and for several miles northward and 
southward, is replete with mineral coal of a very ex- 
cellent quality. Being in the hands of many proprie- 
tors, pits have been opened, and, before the interruption 
of our commerce, were worked to an extent equal to 
the demand. 

In the western country coal is known to be in so 
many places, as to have induced an opinion, that the 
"whole tract between the Laurel mountain, Mississippi, 
and Ohio, yields coal. It is also known in many places 
on the north side of the Ohio. The coal at Pittsburg 
is of very superior quality. A bed of it at that place 
has been a-fire since the year 1765. Another coal-hill 
on the Pike-run of Monongahela has been a-fire ten 
years ; yet it has burnt away about twent}~ yards only. 

I have known one instance of an emerald found in 
this country. Amethysts have been frequent, and 
chrystals common ; yet not in such numbers any of 
them as to be worth seeking. 

There is very good marble, and in very great abun- 
dance, on James' river, at the mouth of Rockfish. 
The samples I have seen, were some of them of a white 
as pure as one might expect to find on the surface of 
the earth : but most of them were variegated with red, 
blue and purple. None of it has been ever worked. 
It forms a very large precipice, which hangs over a 
navjgable part of the river. It is said there is marble 
at Kentucky. 

But one vein of lime stone is known below the Blue 
ridge. Its first appearance, in our country, is in Prince 
William, two miles below the Pignut ridge of moun- 
tains ; thence it passes on nearly parallel with that, and 
crosses theRivanna about five miles below it, where it 



27 



is called the South-west ridge. It then crosses Hard- 
ware, above the month of Hudson's creek, James' river 
at the mouth of Rockfish, at the marble quarry before 
spoken of, probably runs up that river to where it ap- 
pears again at Ross's iron works, and so passes off 
south-westwardly by Flat creek of Otter river. It is 
never more than one hundred yards wide. From the 
Blue ridge westwardly, the whole country seems to be 
founded on a rock of lime-stone, besides infinite quan- 
tities on the surface, both loose and fixed. This is cut 
into beds, which range, as the mountains and sea-coast 
do, from south-west to north-east, the lamina of each 
bed declining from the horizon towards a parallelism 
with the axis of the earth. Being struck with this ob- 
servation, I macle, with a quadrant, a great number of 
trials on the angles of their declination, and found them 
to vary from 22° to 60° ; but averaging all my trials, 
the result was within one third of a degree of the ele- 
vation of the pole or latitude of the place, and much 
the greatest part of them taken separately were little 
different from that : by which it appears, that these 
lamina are in the main, parallel with the axis of the 
earth. In some instances, indeed, I found them per- 
pendicular, and even reclining the other way : but these 
were extremely rare, and always attended with signs 
of convulsion, or other circumstances of singularity, 
which admitted a possibility of removal from their 
original position. These trials were made between 
Madison's cave, and the Patowmac. We hear of lime- 
stone on the Mississippi and Ohio, and in all the moun- 
tainous country between the eastern and western wa- 
ters, not on the mountains themselves, but occupying 
the valleys between them. 

Near the eastern foot of the North mountain are im- 
mense bodies of Schist, containing impressions of shells 
in a variety of forms. I have received petrified shells 
of very different kinds from the first sources of the 
Kentucky, which bear no resemblance to any I have 
ever seen on the tide waters. It is said that shells are 
found in the Andes, in South America, fifteen thousand 



28 



feet above the level of the ocean. This is considered 
by many, both of the learned and unlearned, as a proof 
of an universal deluge. To the many considerations 
opposing this opinion, the following may be added. 
The atmosphere, and all its contents, whether of water, 
air, or other matters, gravitate to the earth, that is to 
say, they have weight. Experience tells us, that the 
weight of all these together never exceeds that of a 
column of mercury of 31 inches height, which is equal 
to one of rain water of 35 feet high. If the whole con- 
tents of the atmosphere then were water, instead of 
what they are, it would cover the globe but 35 feet 
deep ; but as these waters, as they fell, would run into 
the seas, the superficial measure of which is to that of 
the dry parts of the globe, as two to one, the seas would 
be raised only 52 1-2 feet above their present level, and 
of course would overflow the lands to that height only. 
In Virginia this would be a very small proportion even 
of the champaign country, the banks of our tide waters 
being frequently, if not generally of a greater height. 
Deluges beyond this extent then, as for instance, to the 
North mountain or to Kentucky, seem out of the laws 
of nature. But within it they may have taken place to 
a greater or less degree, in proportion to the combina- 
tion of natural causes which may be supposed to have 
produced them. History renders probable some in- 
stances of a partial deluge in the country lying round 
the Mediterranean sea. It has been often* supposed, 
and is not unlikely that that sea was once a lake. 
While such, let us admit an extraordinary collection of 
the waters of the atmosphere from the other parts of 
the globe to have been discharged over that and the 
countries whose waters run into it. Or without sup- 
posing it a lake, admit such an extraordinary collection 
of the waters of the atmosphere, and an influx of wa- 
ters from the Atlantic ocean, forced by long continued 
western winds. The lake, or that sea, may thus have 
been so raised as to overflow the low lands adjacent to 



* 2. Buffon Epoques, 96. 



29 



it, as those of Egypt and Armenia, which, according to 
a tradition of the Egyptians and Hebrews, were over- 
flowed about 2300 years before the Christian sera 5 
those of Attica, said to have been overflowed in the 
time of Ogyges, about five hundred years later; and 
those of Thessaly, in the time of Deucalion, still 300 
years posterior. But such deluges as these will not ac- 
count for the shells found in the higher lands. A sec- 
ond opinion has been entertained, which is, that, in 
times anterior to the records either of history or tradi- 
tion, the bed of the ocean, the principal residence of 
the shelled tribe, has, by some great convulsion of na- 
ture, been heaved to the heights at which we now find 
shells and other remains of marine animals. The fa- 
vourers of this opinion do well to suppose the great 
events on which it rests to have taken place beyond all 
the seras of history ; for within these, certainly none 
such are to be found ; and we may venture to say fur- 
ther, that no fact has taken place, either in our own 
days, or in the thousands of years recorded in history, 
which proves the existence of any natural agents, with- 
in or without the bowels of the earth, of force suflicient 
to heave, to the height of ] 5,000 feet, such masses as 
the Andes. The difference between the power neces- 
sary to produce such an effect, and that which shuffled 
together the different parts of Calabria in our days, is 
so immense, that from the existence of the latter we 
are not authorised to infer that of the former. 

M. de Voltaire has suggested a third solution of this 
difficulty (Quest. Encycl. Coquilles). He cites an in- 
stance in Touraine, where in the space of 80 years, a 
particular spot of earth had been twice metamorphosed 
into soft stone, which had become hard when employed 
in building. In this stone shells of various kinds were 
produced, discoverable at first only with the micros- 
cope, but afterwards growing with the stone. From 
this fact, I suppose, he would have us infer, that, be- 
sides the usual process for generating shells by the ela- 
boration of earth and water in animal vessels, nature 
may have provided an equivalent operation, by passing 



30 



the same materials through the pores of calcareous 
earths and stones; as we see calcareous drop stones 
generating every day by the percolation of water 
through lime stone, and a new marble forming in the 
quarries from which the old has been taken out ; and it 
might be asked, whether it is more difficult for nature 
to shoot the calcareous juice into the form of a shell, 
than other juices into the form of chrystals, plants, ani- 
mals, according to the construction of the vessels 
through which they pass ? There is a wonder some- 
where. Js it greatest on this branch of the dilemma ; 
on that which supposes the existence of a power, of 
which we have no evidence in any other case ; or on 
the first, which requires us to believe the creation of a 
body of water and its subsequent annihilation ? The 
establishment of the instance, cited by M. de Voltaire, 
of the growth of shells unattached to animal bodies, 
would have been that of his theory. But he has not 
established it. He has not even left it on ground so re- 
spectable as to have rendered it an object of enquiry to 
the literati of his own country. Abandoning this fact, 
therefore, the three hypotheses are equally unsatisfac- 
tory ; and we must be contented to acknowledge, that 
this great phenomenon is as yet unsolved. Ignorance 
is preferable to error ; and he is less remote from the 
truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what 
is wrong. 

There is great abundance (more especially when you 
approach the mountains) of stone, white, blue, brown, 
&c, fit for the chisel, good mill stone, such also as 
stands the fire, and slate stone. We are told of flint, 
fit for gun flints, on the Meherrin in Brunswick, on the 
Mississippi between the mouth of the Ohio and Kas- 
kaskia, and on others of the western waters. Isingiass 
or mica is in several places ; loadstone also ; and an as- 
bestos of a ligneous texture, is sometimes to be met 
with. 

Marie abounds generally. A clay, of which, like 
the Sturbridge in England, bricks are made, which 
^ill resist long the violent action of fire, has been 



31 



found on the Tuckaboe creek of James river, and no 
doubt will be found in other places. Chalk is said to 
be in Botetort and Bedford. In the latter county is 
some earth believed to be gypseous. Ochres are found 
in various parts. 

In the lime stone country are many caves, the earthy 
floors of which are impregnated with nitre. On Rich 
creek, a branch of the Great Kanhaway, about 60 miles 
below the lead mines, is a very large one, about 20 
yards wide, and entering the hill a quarter or half a 
mile. The vault is of rock, from 9 to 15 or 20 feet 
above the floor. A Mr Lynch, who gives use this tic- 
count, undertook to extract the nitre. Besides a coat 
of the salt which had formed on the vault and floor, he 
found the earth highly impregnated to the depth of 
seven feet in some places, and generally of three, every 
bushel yielding on an average three pounds of nitre. 
Mr Lynch having made about 10001b. of the salt from 
it, consigned it to some others, who have since made 
10,0001b. They have done this by pursuing the cave 
into the hill, never trying a second time the earth they 
have once exhausted, to see how far or soon it receives 
another impregnation. At least fifty of these caves are 
worked on the Green briar. There are many of them 
known on Cumberland r ; ver. 

The country westward of the Alleghaney abounds 
with springs of common salt. The most remarkable 
we have heard of are at Bullet's lick, the Big bones, 
the Blue licks, and on the North fork of Holston. The 
area of Bullet's lick, is of many acres. Digging the 
earth to the depth of three feet, the water begins to 
boil up, and the deeper you go, and the drier the weath- 
er, the stronger is the brine. A thousand gallons of 
water, yield from a bushel to a bushel and a half of 
salt, which is about 801b. of water to lib. of salt ; but 
of sea water 251b. yield Jib. of salt. So that sea water 
is more than three times as strong as that of these 
springs. A salt spring has been lately discovered at the 
Turkey foot on Yohoganey, by which river it is over- 
flowed, except at very low water. Its merit is not yet 



32 



known. Dunning's lick is also as yet untried, but it is 
supposed to be the best on this side the Ohio. The 
salt springs on the margin of the Onondago lake are 
said to give a saline taste to the waters of the lake. 

There are several medicinal springs, some of which 
are indubitably efficacious, while others seem to owe 
their reputation as much to fancy and change of air 
and regimen, as to their real virtues. None of them 
having undergone a chemical analysis in skilful hands, 
nor been so far the subject of observations as to have 
produced a reduction into classes of the disorders 
which they relieve ; it is in my power to give little more 
than an enumeration of them. 

The most efficacious of these are two springs in Au- 
gusta, near the first sources of James river, where it is 
called Jackson's river. They rise near the foot of the 
ridge of mountains, generally called the Warm spring 
mountains, but in the maps Jackson's mountains. The 
one is distinguished by the name of the Warm spring, 
and the other of the Hot spring. The warm spring is- 
sues with a very bold stream sufficient to work a grist 
mill, and to keep the waters of its basin, which is 30 
feet in diameter, at the vital warmth, viz. 96° of Fahren- 
heit's thermometer. The matter with which these 
waters is allied is very volatile ; its smell indicates it to 
be sulphureous, as also does the circumstance of its 
turning silver black. They relieve rheumatisms. Oth- 
er complaints also of very different natures have been 
removed or lessened by them. It rains here four or 
five days in every week. 

The Hot spring is about six miles from the Warm, is 
much smaller, and has been so hot as to have boiled an 
egg. Some believe its degree of heat to be lessened. 
It raises the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer to 
112 degrees, which is fever heat. It sometimes re- 
lieves where the Warm spring fails. A fountain of 
common water, issuing within a few inches of its mar- 
gin gives it a singular appearance. Comparing the 
temperature of these with that of the Hot springs of 
Kamschatka, of which Krachininnikow gives an ac- 



33 



count, the difference is very great, the latter raising the 
mercury to 200° which is within 12° of boiling water. 
These springs are very much resorted to in spite of a 
total want of accommodation for the sick. Their wa- 
ters are strongest in the hottest months, which occa- 
sions their being visited in July and August principally. 

The Sweet springs are in the county of Botetourt, at 
the eastern foot of the Alleghaney, about 42 miles from 
the Warm springs. They are still less known. Hav- 
ing been found to relieve cases in which the others had 
been ineffectually tried, it is probable their composition 
is different. They are different also in their tempera- 
ture, being as cold as common water, which is not 
mentioned, however, as a proof of a distinct impregna- 
tion. This is among the first sources of James' river. 

On Patowmac river, in Berkley county, above the 
North mountain, are medicinal springs, much more fre- 
quented than those of Augusta. Their powers, how- 
ever, are less, the waters weakly mineralized, and 
scarcely warm. They are more visited, because situat- 
ed in a fertile, plentiful and populous country, better 
provided with accommodations, always safe from the 
Indians, and nearest to the more populous states. 

In Louisa county, on the head waters of the South 
Anna branch of York river, are springs of some medi- 
cinal virtue. They are not much used however. There 
js a weak chalybeate at Richmond ; and many others 
in various parts of the country, which are of two little 
worth, or two little note, to be enumerated after those 
before mentioned. 

We are told of a sulphur spring on Howard's creek 
of Greenbriar, and another at Boonsborough on Ken- 
tucky. 

In the low grounds of the Great Kanhaway, seven 
miles above the motfth of Klk river, and 67 above that 
of the Kanhaway itself, is a hole in the earth of the ca- 
pacity of 30 or 40 gallons, from which issues constant- 
ly a bituminous vapour, in so strong a current, as to 



34 



give to the sand about its orifice the motion which ithas^ 
in a boiling spring. On presenting a lighted candle or 
torch within 18 inches of the hole, it flames up in a col- 
umn of 18 inches diameter, and four or five feet in 
height, which sometimes burns out within 20 minutes, 
and at other times has been known to continue three 
days, and then has been still left burning. The flame 
is unsteady, of the density of that of burning spirits, 
and smells like burning pit coal. Water sometimes 
collects in the basin, which is remarkably cold, and is 
kept in ebullition by the vapour issuing through it. If 
the vapour be fired in that state, the water soon be- 
comes so warm that the hand cannot bear it, and eva- 
porates wholly in a short time. This, with the circum- 
jacent lands, is the property of his excellency General 
Washington and of General Lewis. 

There is a similar one on Sandy river, the flame of 
which is a column of about 12 inches diameter, and 
three feet high. General Clarke, who informs me of 
it, kindled the vapour, staid about an hour, and left it 
burning. 

The mention of uncommon springs leads me to that 
of Syphon fountains. There is one of these near the 
intersection of lord Fairfax's boundary with the North 
mountain, not far from Brock's gap, on the stream of 
which is a grist mill, which grinds two bushel of grain 
at every flood of the spring: another near Cow pasture 
river, a mile and a half below its confluence with the 
Bull pasture river, and 16 or 17 miles from the Hot 
springs, which intermits once in every twelve hours: 
one also near the mouth of the north Holston. 

After these may be mentioned the Natural Well, on 
the lands of a Mr Lewis in Frederic county. It is 
somewhat larger than a common well : the water rises 
in it as near the surface of the earth as in the neigh- 
bouring artificial wells, and is of a depth as yet un- 
known. It is said there is a current in it tending sen- 
sibly downwards. If this be true it probably feeds 
some fountain, of which it is the natural reservoir, dis- 
tinguished from others, like that of Madison's cave, by 



35 



being accessible. It is used with a bucket and wind 
lass as an ordinary well. 

A complete catalogue of the trees, plants, fruits, &c, 
is probably not desired. I will sketch out those which 
would principally attract notice, as being L Medicinal, 
2. Esculent, 3. Ornamental, or 4. Useful for fabrica- 
tion ; adding the Linnsean to the popular names, as the 
latter might not convey precise information to a foreign- 
er. I shall confine myself too to native plants. 

1. Senna. Cassia ligustrina. 
, Arsmart. Polygonum Sagittatum. 

Clivers, or goose grass. Galium Spurium. 

Lobelia of several species. 

Pal ma Christi. Ricinus. 

(3) Jamestown weed. Datura Stramonium. 

Mallow. Malv a rot undi folia. 

Syrian mallow. Hibiscus moschentos. 

Hibiscus Virginicus. 

Indian mallow. Sida rhombifolia. 

Sida abutilon. 

Virginia marshmalloiv. JYapcea hermaphrodita. 

Napcea dioica. 

Indian physic. Spiria trifoliaia. 

'Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. 

Pleurisy root. Ascl&pias decumbens. 

Virginia snake root. Aristolochia serpentaria. 

Black snake root. Acta racemosa. 

Seneca rattlesnake root. Poly gala Senega. 

Valerian. Valeriana locusta radiata. 

Gentiana, Sctponaria, Villosa and Centaurium, 

Ginseng. Panax quinquefolium. 

Angelica. Angelica sylvestris. 

Cassava. Jatropha urens. 
% Tuckahoe. Lycoperdon tuber. 

Jerusalem artichoke. Helianthus tnherosus. 

Long potatoes. Convolvulas batatas. 

Granadillas. Maycocks. Maracocks. Passiflora in 
carnata. 

Panic. Panicum of many species. 



36 



! 



Indian millet. Holcus laxus. 

Holcus striosus. 
Wild oat. Zizania aquaticia. 
Wild pea. Dolichos of Clayton. 
Lupine. Lvpinus perennis. 
Wild hop. Humulus lupulus. 
Wild cherry, Primus Virginiana. 

Cherokee plumb. Prunus sylvestris frvctu majori. Clay- 
ton. 

Wild plumb. Prunus sylvestris fructu minori. Clayton, 
Wild crab-apple. Pyrus coronaria. 
Red mulberry. Morus rubra. 
Persimmon. Diospiros Virginiana. 
Sup-ar maple. Acer saccharinum. 

Scaly bark Hiccory. Juglans alba cortice squamoso. Clay- 
ton. 

Common hiccory. Juglans alba, fructu ininore rencido. 
Clayton. 

Paccan, or Illinois nut. Not described by Linnaivs, Mil- 
lar or Clayton. Wtre I to venture to describe this, speak- 
ing of the fruit from memory, and of the leaf from 
plants of two years'* growth, I should specify it as the 
Juglans alba, foliolis lanceolatis, acnminatis, serratis, 
tomentosis, fructu minore, ovaio, compresso, vix insculp- 
to, dulci, put amine tenerrimo. It grows on the Illinois, 
Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi. It is spoken of by 
Don Ulloa under the name of Pacanos, in his jYoticias 
Americanas. Entret. 6. 

Black walnut. Juglans nigra. 

White walnut. Juglans alba. 

Chestnut. Fag us casta nea. 

Chinquapin. Fagus pumila. 

Hazlenut. Corylus avellana. 

Grapes. Vitis. Various kinds, though only three de- 
scribed by Clayton. 
Scarlet Strawberries. Fragaria Virginiana of Millar. 
Whortleberries. Vaccinium uliginosum. 
Wild gooseberries. Rihes grossularia. 
Cranberries. Vaccinium oxycoccos. 
Black raspberries. Rubus cccidentalis. 



37 



Blackbemes. Rubus fruticosus. 
Dewberries. Rubus ccesIus. 
Cloudberries. Rubus Caamcemorus. 
3. Plane irze. Platanus occidentalis. 
Poplar. Liriodendron tulipifera. 

Poplus heterophylla. 
Black poplar. Populus nigra. 
Aspen. Populus tremula. 
Linden, or Lime. Telia Americana. 
Red flowering maple. Acer rubrum. 
Horse-chestnut, or buck's eye. JEsculus paviai 
Catalpa. Bignonia catalpa. 
Umbrella. Magnolia iripetala. 
Swamp laurel. Magnolia glauca. 
Cucumber tree. Magnolia acuminata. 
Portugal bay. Laurus indica. 
Red bay. Laurus borbonia. 
Dwarf -rose bay. Rhododendron maximum. 
Laurel of the ivestern country. Qu. species ? 
Wild pimento. Laurus benzoin. 
Sassafras. Laurus sassafras. 
Locust. Robinia pseudo-acacia. 
Honey-locust. Glediisia. 1. C. 
Dogwood. Cornus florida. 

Fringe, or snow-drop tree. Chionanthus Virginica. 

Barberry. Barberis vulgaris. 

Redbud, or Judas-tree. Cercis Canadensis. 

Holly. Ilex aquifolium. 

Cockspur hawthorn. Crataegus coccinea. 

Spindle-tree. Euonymus Europceus. 

Evergrten spindle-tree. Euonymus Americanus. 

Itea Virg'mica. 

Elder. Sambucus nigra. 

Papaw. Annona triloba. 

Candleberry myrtle. Myrica cerifera. 

Dwarf laurel, Kalmia angustifolia ? called ivy with 

Kalmia latifolia \ us. 
Ivy. Hedera quinquefolia. 
Trumpet honeysuckle. Lonicera sempervirens* 
Upright honeysuckle. Azalea nudiflora. 

4 



38 



Yellow jasmine. Bignonia sempervireiw* 
Calcycanthus floridus. 
American aloe. Agave Virginica. 
Sumach. Rhus. Qu. species ? 
Poke. Phytolacca dzcandra. 
Long moss. Tillandsia Usneoides. 
4. Reed. Arundo phragmitis. 

Virginia h e m p . Acnida cannabina. 

Flax. Linum Virginianum. 

Black, or pitch -pine. Pinus tada* 

White pine. Pinus strobus. 

Yellow pine. Pinus Virginica, 

Spruce pine. Pinus foliis singularibus . Clayton* 

Hemlock spruce Fir. Pinus Canade7isis. 

Aborvita. Thuya occidentalism 

Juniper. Juniperus Virginica (called cedar with us~) 

Cypress. Cupressus disticha. 

White cedar. Cupressus Thyoides. 

Black oak. Quercus nigra. 

White oak. Quercus alba. 

Red oak. Quercus rubra. 

Willow oak. Quercus phellos. 

Chestnut oak. Quercus prinus. 

Black jack oak. Quercus aquatica. Clayton.. 

Ground oak. Quercus pumila. Clayton. 

Live oak. Quercus Virginiana. Millar. 

Black birch. Betula nigra. 

White birch. Betula alba. 

Beach. Fagus sylvatica. 

Ash. Fraxinus Americana. 

Fraxinus Nova Anglice. Millar. 

Elm. Ulmus Americana. 

Willow. Salix. Qu. species 7 

Sweet gum. Liquidambar styraciflua. 

The following were found in Virginia when first 
visited by the English ; but it is not said whether of 
spontaneous growth, or by cultivation only. Most pro- 
bably they were natives of more southern climates, and 
handed along the continent, from one nation to another 
of the savages. 



39 



Tobacco. JYicotiana. 

Maize. Zea mays. 

Round potatoes. Solanum tuberosum. 

Pumpkins, Cucurbit a pepo. 

Clymings. Cucurbita verrucosa. 

Squashes. Cucurbita melopepo. 

There is an infinitude of other plants and flowers, 
for an enumeration and scientific description of which 
I must refer to the Flora Virginica of our great bota- 
nist, Dr Clayton, published by Gronovius at Leyden, 
in 1762. This accurate observer was a native and resi- 
dent of this state, passed a long life in exploring and 
describing its plants, and is supposed to have enlarged 
the botanical catalogue as much as almost any man 
who has lived. 

Besides these plants, which are native, our farms pro- 
duce wheat, rye, barley, oats, buck-wheat, broom corn, 
and Indian corn. The climate suits rice well enough, 
wherever the lands do. Tobacco, hemp, flax, and cot- 
ton, are staple commodities. Indigo yields two cut- 
tings. The silk-worm is a native, and the mulberry, 
proper for its food, grows kindly. 

We cultivate also potatoes, both the long and the 
round, turnips, carrots, parsnips, pumpkins and ground 
nuts (Arachis.) Our grasses are lucerne, st, foin, bur- 
net, timothy, ray and orchard grass ; red, white and 
yellow clover ; greenswerd, blue grass and crab grass. 

The gardens yield musk-melons, water-melons, to- 
matos, okra, pomegranates, figs, and the esculent plants 
of Europe. 

The orchards produce apples, pears, cherries, quin- 
ces, peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds and plums. 

Our quadrupeds have been mostly described by Lin- 
naeus and Mons. de BurTon. Of these the mammoth, 
or big buffalo, as called by the Indians, must certainly 
have been the largest. Their tradition is, that he was 
carnivorous, and still exists in the northern parts of 
America. A delegation of warriors from the Delaware 
tribe having visited the governor of Virginia, during 
the revolution, on matters of business, after these had 



40 



been discussed and settled in council, the governor ask- 
ed them some questions relative to their country, and 
among others, what they knew or had heard of the 
animal whose bones were found at the Saltlicks on the 
Ohio. Their chief speaker immediately put himself 
into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp suited to 
what he conceived the elevation of his subject, inform- 
ed him that it was a tradition handed down from their 
fathers, 'That in ancient times a herd of these tre- 
mendous animals came to the Big-bone licks, and be- 
gan an universal destruction of the bear, deer, elks, 
buffaloes, and other animals which h r .d been created 
for the use of the Indians: that the Great Man above, 
looking down and seeing this, was so enraged, that he 
seized his lightning, descended on the earth, seated 
himself on a neighbouring mountain, on a rock of which 
his seat and the print of his feet are still to be seen, 
and hurled bis bolts among them till the whole were 
slaughtered, except the big bull, who presenting his 
forehead to the shafts, shook them off as they fell ; but 
missing one at length, it wounded him in the side ; 
whereon, springing round, he bounded over the Onio, 
over the Wabash, the Illinois, and finally over the great 
lakes, where he is living at this day. 5 It is well known, 
that on the Ohio, and in many parts of America further 
north, tusks, grinders and skeletons of unparalleled 
magnitude, are found in great numbers, some lying on 
the surface of the earth, and some a little below it. A 
Mr Stanley, taken prisoner by the Indians near the 
mouth of the Tanissee, relates, that, after being trans- 
ferred through several tribes, from one to another, he 
was at length carried over the mountains west of the 
Missouri to a river which runs westwardly: that these 
bones abounded there, and that the natives described 
to him the animal to which they belonged as still ex- 
isting in the northern parts of their country ; from 
which description he judged it to be an elephant. 
Bones of the same kind have been lately found, some 
feet beiow the surface of the earth, in salines opened 
on the North Holston, a branch of the Tanissee, about 



41 



the latitude of 36J° north. From the accounts pub- 
lished in Europe, I suppose it to he decided, that these 
are of the same kind with those found in Siberia. In- 
stances are mentioned of like animal remains found in 
the more southern climates of both hemispheres ; but 
they are either so loosely mentioned as to leave a doubt 
of the fact, so inaccurately described as not to author- 
ize the classing them with the great northern bones, or 
so rare as to found a suspicion that they have been car- 
ried thither as curiosities from more northern regions. 
So that on the whole there seem to be no certain ves- 
tiges of the existence of this animal further south than 
the salines last mentioned. It is remarkable that the 
tusks and skeletons have been ascribed by the natural- 
ists of Europe to the elephant, while the grinders have 
been given to the hippopotamus, or river horse. Yet 
it is acknowledged, that the tusks and skeletons are 
much larger than those of the elephant, and the grind- 
ers many times greater than those of the hippopota- 
mus, and essentially different in form. Wherever these 
grinders are found, there also we find the tusks and 
skeleton ; but no skeleton of the hippopotamus nor 
grinders of the elephant. It will not be said that the 
hippopotamus and elephant came always to the same 
spot, the former to deposit his grinders, and the latter 
his tusks and skeleton. For what became of the parts 
not deposited there? We must agree then that these 
remains belong to each other, that they are of one and 
the same animal, that this was not a hippopotamus, 
because the hippopotamus had no tusks nor such a 
frame, and because the grinders differ in their size as 
well as in the number and form of their points. That 
it was not an elephant, I think ascertained by proofs 
equally decisive. I will not avail myself of the au- 
thority of the celebrated* anatomist, who, from an ex- 
amination of the form and structure of the tusks, has 
declared they were essentially different from those of 
the elephant ; because anotherf anatomist, equally cele- 



Hunter. 

4* 



t D'Aubenton. 



42 



forated, has declared, on a like examination, that they 
are precisely the same. Between two such authorities 
I will suppose this circumstance equivocal. But, 1, 
The skeleton of the mammoth for so the ineomitum 
has - been called) bespeaks an animal of five or six times 
the cubit volume of the elephant, as Mons. de Buffon 
has admitted. 2, The grinders are five times as large, 
are square, and the grinding surface studded with four 
or five rows of blunt points: whereas those -of the 
elephant are broad and thin, and their grinding surface 
flat. 3, I have never heard an instance, and suppose 
there has been none, of the grinder of an elephant be- 
ing found in America. 4, From the known tempera- 
ture and constitution of the elephant he could never 
have existed in those regions where the remains of the 
mammoth have been found. The elephant is a native 
only of the torrid zone and its vicinities : if, with the 
assistance of warm apartments and warm clothing, he 
has been preserved in life in the temperate climates of 
Europe, it has only been for a small portion of what 
would have been his natural period, and no instance of 
his multiplication in them has ever been known. But 
no bones of the mammoth, as f have before observed, 
have been ever found further south than the salines of 
the Holston, and they have been found as far north as 
the Arctic circle. Those, tnerefore, who are of opin- 
ion that the elephant and mammoth are the same, must 
believe, 1, That the elephant known to us can exist 
and multiply in the frozen zone ; or, 2, That an eternal 
fire may once have warmed those regions, and since 
abandoned them, of which, however, the globe exhi- 
bits no unequivocal indications ; or, 3, That the obli- 
quity of the ecliptic, when these elephants lived, was 
so great as to include within the tropics all those re- 
gions in which the bones are found: the tropics being, 
as is before observed, the natural limits of habitation 
for the elephant. But if it be admitted that this obli- 
quity has really decreased, and we adopt the highest 
rate of decrease yet pretended, that is of one minute 
in a century, to transfer the northern tropic to the Arc- 



43 



tic circle, would carry the existence of these supposed 
elephants 250,000 years back ; a period far beyond our 
conception of the duration of animal bones left expos- 
ed to the open air, as these are in many instances. 
Besides, though these regions would then be supposed 
within the tropics, yet their winters would have been 
too severe for the sensibility of the elephant. They 
would have had too but one day and one night in the 
year, a circumstance to which we have no reason to 
suppose the nature of the elephant fitted. However, 
it has been demonstrated, that, if a variation of obli- 
quity in the ecliptic takes place at all, it is vibratory, 
and never exceeds the limits of 9 degrees, which is not 
sufficient to bring these bones within the tropics. One 
of these hypotheses, or some other equally voluntary 
and inadmissible to cautious philosophy, must be adopt- 
ed to support the opinion that these are the bones of 
the elephant. For my own part, I find it easier to be- 
lieve that an animal may have existed, resembling the 
elephant in his tusks, and general anatomy, while his 
nature was in other respects extremely different. From 
the 30th degree of south latitude to the 30th of north, 
are nearly the limits which nature has fixed for the ex- 
istence and multiplication of the elephant known to us. 
Proceeding thence northwardly to 36£ degrees, we en- 
ter those assigned to the mammoth. The further we 
advance north, the more their vestiges multiply as far 
as the earth has been explored in that direction ; and 
it is as probable as otherwise, that this progression con- 
tinues to the pole itself, if land extends so far. The 
centre of the frozen zone then may be the achme of 
their vigour, as that of the torrid is of the elephant. 
Thus nature seems to have drawn a belt of separation 
between these two tremendous animals, whose breadth 
indeed is not precisely known, though at present we 
may suppose it about 6 J degrees of latitude ; to have 
assigned to the elephant the regions south of these con- 
fines, and those north to the mammoth, founding the 
constitution of the one in her extreme of heat, and that 
of the other in the extreme of cold. When the Crea- 



44 



tor has therefore separated their nature as far as the 
extent of the scale of animal life allowed to this planet 
would permit, it seems perverse to declare it the same, 
from a partial resemblance of their tusks and bones. 
But to whatever animal we ascribe these remains, it is 
certain such a one has existed in America, and that it 
has been the largest of all terrestrial beings. It should 
have sufficed to have rescued the earth it inhabited, and 
the atmosphere it breathed, from the imputation of im- 
potence in the conception and nourishment of animal 
life on a large scale : to have stifled, in its birth, the 
opinion of a writer, the most learned too of all others 
in the science of animal history, that in the new world, 
*La nature vivante est beaucoup moins agissante, beau- 
coup moins forte that nature is less active, less ener- 
getic on one side of the globe than she is on the other. 
As if both sides were not warmed by the same genial 
sun ; as if a soil of the same chemical composition, was 
less capable of elaboration into animal nutriment ; as if 
the fruits and grains from that soil and sun yielded a 
less rich chyle, gave less extension to the solids and 
fluids of the body, or produced sooner in the cartilages, 
membranes and fibres, that rigidity which restrains all 
further extension, and terminates animal growth. The 
truth is, that a Pigmy and a Patagonian, Mouse and a 
Mammoth, derive their dimensions from the same nutri- 
tive juices. The difference of increment depends on 
circumstances unsearchable to beings with our capaci- 
ties. Every race of animals seems to have received 
from their maker certain laws of extension at the time 
of their formation. Their elaborative organs were 
formed to produce this, while proper obstacles were op- 
posed to its further progress. Below these limits they 
cannot fall, nor rise above them. What intermediate 
station they shall take may depend on soil, on climate, 
on food, on a careful choice of breeders. But all the 
manna of heaven would never raise the mouse to the 
bulk of the mammoth. 



* Buffon, xviii, 122 edit. Paris, 1764. 



45 



The opinion advanced by the Count de Buffon,* is 
1. That the animals common both to the old and new 
world, are smaller in the latter. 2. That those peculiar 
to the new are on a smaller scale. 3. That those 
which have been domesticated in both, have degenera- 
ted in America : and 4. That on the whole it exhibits 
fewer species. And the reason he thinks is, that the 
heats of America are less; that more waters are spread 
over its surface by nature, and fewer of these drained 
off by the hand of man. In other words, that heat is 
friendly, and moisture adverse to the production and 
developement of large quadrupeds. 1 will not meet 
this hypothesis on its first doubtful ground, whether 
the climate of America be comparatively more humid ? 
Because we are not furnished with observations suffi- 
cient to decide this question. And though, till it be 
decided, we are as free to deny, as others are to affirm 
the fact, yet for a moment let it be supposed. The 
hypothesis, after this supposition, proceeds to another; 
that moisture is unfriendly to animal growth. The 
truth of this is inscrutable to us by reasonings a priori. 
Nature has hidden from us her modus agendi. Our 
only appeal on such questions is to experience ; and I 
think that experience is against the supposition. It is 
by the assistance of heat and moisture that vegetables 
are elaborated from the elements of earth, air, water 
and fire. We accordingly see the more humid cli- 
mates produce the greater quantity of vegetables. 
Vegetables are mediately or immediately the food of 
every animal: and in proportion to the quantity of 
food, we see animals not only multiplied in their num- 
bers, but improved in their bulk, as far as the laws of 
their nature will admit. Of this opinion is the Count 
de Buffon himself in another part of his work :f 'en 
general il paroit que les pays un peu froids convien- 
nent mieux a nos boeufs que les pays chauds, et qu'ils 
sont d'autant plus gross et plus grands que le climat 



* Buffon, xviii. 100—156. 



t viii. 134. 



46 



est plus humide et plus abondans en paturages. Les 
boeufs de Danemarck, de la Podolie, de l'TIlkraine et 
de la Tartarie qu habitent les Calmouques sont les plus 
grands de tous.' Here then a race of animals, and 
one of the largest too, has been increased in its dimen- 
sions by cold and moisture, in direct opposition to the 
hypothesis, which supposes that these two circumstan- 
ces diminish animal bulk, and that it is their contraries 
heat and dryness which enlarge it. But when we ap- 
peal to experience, we are not to rest satisfied with a 
single fact. Let us therefore try our question on more 
general ground. Let us take two portions of the earth, 
Europe and America for instance, sufficiently extensive 
to give operation to general causes ; let us consider 
the circumstances peculiar to each, and observe their 
effect on animal nature. America running through the 
torrid as well as temperate zone, has more heat collec- 
tively taken, than Europe. But Europe, according to 
our hypothesis, is the dryest. They are equally adapt- 
ed then to animal productions; each being endowed 
with one of those causes which befriend animal growth, 
and with one which opposes it. If it be thought une- 
qual to compare Europe with America, which is so 
much larger, I answer, not more so than to compare 
America with the whole world. Besides, the purpose 
of the comparison is to try an hypothesis, which makes 
the size of animals depend on the heat and moisture of 
climate. If therefore we take a region, so extensive as 
to comprehend a sensible distinction of climate, and so 
extensive too as that local accidents, or the intercourse 
of animals on its borders, may not materially affect the 
size of those in its interior parts, we shall comply with | 
those conditions which the hypothesis may reasonably 
demand. The objection would be the weaker in the 
present case, because any intercourse of animals which 
may take place on the confines of Europe and Asia, is 
to the advantage of the former, Asia producing cer- 
tainly larger animals than Europe. Let us then take 
a comparative view of the quadrupeds of Europe and 



47 



America, presenting them to the eye in three different 
tables, in one of which shall be enumerated those 
found in both countries; in a second, those found in 
one only ; in a third, those which have been domestica- 
ted in both. To facilitate the comparison, let those of 
each table be arranged in gradation according to their 
sizes, from the greatest to the smallest, so far as their 
sizes can be conjectured. The weights of the large 
animals shall be expressed in the English avoirdupoise 
pound and its decimals : those of the smaller in the same 
ounce and its decimals. Those which are marked 
thus,* are actual weights of particular subjects, deemed 
among the largest of their species. Those marked 
thus,f are furnished by judicious persons, well acquaint- 
ed with the species, and saying, from conjecture only, 
what the largest individual they had seen would proba- 
bly have weighed. The other weights are taken from 
Messrs. Buffon and D'Aubenton, and are of such sub- 
jects as came casually to their hands for dissection. 
This circumstance must be remembered where their 
weights and mine stand opposed : the latter being 
stated, not to produce a conclusion in favour of the 
American species, but to justify a suspension of opinion 
until we are better informed, and a suspicion, in the 
mean time, that there is no uniform difference in favour 
of either ; which is all I pretend. 



48 



A comparative view of the Quadrupeds of Europe and of 
America. 



I. ABORIGINALS OF BOTH. 



Mammoth, 
Buffalo. Bison, 
White bear. Ours blanC, 
Carribou. Renne, 
Bear. Ours, 

Elk. E!an. Original palmated ? 

Red deer. Cerf, 

Fallow deer. Daim, 

Wolf. Loup, 

Roe. Chevreuil, 

Glutton. Glouton. Carcajou, 

Wild cat. Chat sauvage, 

Lynx. Loup cervier, 

Beaver. Castor, 

Badger. Blaireau, 

Red fox. Renard, 

Grey fox. Isatis, 

Otter. Loutre, 

Monax. Marmotte, 

Vison. Fouine, 

Hedgehog. Herrisson, 

Marten. Marte, 

Water rat. Rat d'eau, 
Weasel. Belette, 
Flying squirrel. Polatouche, 
Shrew mouse. Musaramne, 



F 11 rnnp 
Europe. 


America. 


lb. 


lb. 




*1800 


153.7 


*410 


288.8 


*273 


167.8 




69.8 




56.7 






t30 


25. 




18.5 


*45 


136 




135 




8.9 


tl2 


6.5 




2.8 




2.2 




1.9 


t6 


oz. 




7.5 




2.2 


oz. 


2.2 


t4 


1. 





49 



II. ABORIGINALS OF ONE ONLY. 





1 
1 


A MFR TP A 






lb. 




lb. 


Sanglier. Wild boar, 


280. 


Tapir, 


534. 


Tt IT £1 1 XT* 13 1 

Mouflon. Wild sheep, 


56. 


Elk, round horned, 


t450. 


Bouquetin. Wild goat, 




Puma, 




Lie vie. Hare, 


7.6 


Jugar, 


218. 


Lapin. Rabbit, 


3.4 


Cabiai, 


109 


Putois. Polecat, 


3.3 


Tama noire, 


109. 


Genette, 


3.1 


1 ammandua, 


65 A 


Desman. Muskrat, 


oz. 


Cougar of North America 


75 


Ecureuil. Squirrel, 


12. 


Cougar oi South America 


59.4 


Herinine. Ermin, 


8.2 


Ocelot, 




Rat. hat, 


7.5 


Pecari, 


46.3 


Loirs, 


3.1 


Jaguaret 


43.6 


Lerot. Dormouse, 


1.8 


Alco, 




Taupe. Mole, 


1.2 


Lama, 




Hamster, 


.9 


Paco, 




Zisel, 
Leming, 




Paca, 


32.7 




Serval, 




Souris. Mouse^ 


Sloth. Unau, 
Saricovienne, 
Kincajou, 
Tatou Kabassou, 
Urson. Urchin, 
Raccoon. Raton, 
Coati, 
Coendou, 
Sloth. Ai', 
Sapajou Ouarini, 
Sapajou Coaita, 
Tatou Encubert, 
Tatou Apar, 
Tatou Cachica, 


27.25 

21.8 

16 5 

16.3 
13. 

9.3 
7. 






Little Coendou, 
Opossum. Sarigu, 


6.5 












Tapeti, 








lYIargay, 








Carbier, 

A (in n i i 
n (i ii, 

Sapajou Sai, 








4.2 












Tatou Cirquincorr, 








Tatou Patouate, 


3.3 






Moufftftte Squash, 








Mouffette Chinche, 
Mouffette, Conepate, 










5 




Scunk, 





50 



ii. 



EUROPE. 



TABLE CONTINUED. 

AMERICA. 



Mouffette. Zorilla, 
Whabus. Hare. Rabbit, 
Aperea, 
Akouchi, 

Ondatra. Muskrat, 
Pilori, 

Great grey squirrel, 
Fox Squirrel of Virginia, 
Surikate, 
Mink, 

Sapajou. Sajou, 
Indian pig. Cochond'Inde 
Sapnjou Sai'miri, 
Phalanger, 
Coquallin, 
Lesser grey squirrel, 
Black squirrel, 
Red squirrel, 
Sagoin Saki, 
Sagoin Pinche, 
Sagoin Tamarin, 
Sagoin Ouistiti, 
Sagoin Marakine, 
Sagoin Mico, 
Cayopollin, 
Fourmillier, 
Marmose, 

Sarigue of Cayenne, 
Tucan, 
Red mole, 
Ground squirrel, 

DOMESTICATED IN BOTH. 



lb. 



+2.7 
t2.625 
12. 
2. 
1.1 
1.6 
1*5 



+1.5 
+1.5 
10. oz. 



oz. 
4.4 



.4 



Cow, 

Horse, 

Ass, 

Hog, 

Sheep, 

Goat, 

Dog, 

Cat, 



Europe. 



lb. 
765. 



67.6 
.7 



America. 



lb. 

*2500 
♦1366 

*1200 
*125 
*80 



51 



I have not inserted in the first table the Phoca,* nor 
leather winged bat, because the one living half the year 
in the water, and the other being a winged animal, 
the individuals of each species may visit both conti- 
nents. 

Of the animals in the first table, Mons. de Buffori 
himself informs us, [XXVII. 130. XXX. 213.] that the 
beaver, the otter, and shrew mouse, though of the same 
species, are larger in America than in Europe. This 
should therefore have corrected the generality of his 
expressions, XVIII. 145. and elsewhere, that the ani- 
mals common to the two countries, are considerably 
less in America than in Europe, i et cela sans aucune ex- 
ception.' He tells us too, [Quadrup. VIII. 344. edit. 
Paris, 1777] that on examining a bear from America, he 
remarked no difference, i dans la forme de cet ours 
d'Amerique compare a celui d'Europe;' but adds from 
Bartrarn's journal, that an American bear weighed 
4001b. English, equal to 3671b. French : whereas we 
find the European bear examined by M. D'Aubenton, 
[XVII. 82.] weighed but 1411b. French. That the 
palmated elk is larger in America than in Europe, we 
are informed by Kalm,f a naturalist who visited the 
former by public appointment, for the express purpose 
of examining the subjects of natural history. In this 
fact Pennant concurs with him. [Barrington's Mis- 
cellanies.] The same Kalm tells us| that the black 
moose, or renne of America is as high as a tall horse ; 
and Catesby,§ that it is about the bigness of a middle 
sized ox. The same account of their size has been 
given me by many who have seen them. But Mons. 
D'Aubenton says|| that the renne of Europe is about 

* It is said, that this animal is seldom seen above 30 miles 
from the shore, or beyond the 56th degree of latitude. The 
interjacent islands between Asia and America admit his passing 
from one continent to the other without exceeding these bounds. 
And in fact, travellers tell us that these islands are places of 
principal resort for them, and especially in the season of bring- 
ing forth their young. t I. 233. Lond. 1772. 

% I. 233. Lond. 1772. k I. xxvii. (I XXIV. If2. 



52 



the size of a red deer. The weasel is larger in Ameri- 
ca than in Europe, as may be seen by comparing its 
dimensions as reported by Mons. D'Aubenton* and 
Kalm. The latter tells us,f that the lynx, badger, red 
fox, and flying squirrel, are the same in America as in 
Europe: by which expression I understand, they are 
the same in all material circumstances, in size as well 
as others : for if they were smaller they would differ 
from the European. Our gray fox is, by Catesby's ac- 
count,:): little different in size and shape from the Eu- 
ropean fox. I presume he means the red fox of Eu- 
rope, as does Kalm, where he says,§ that in size * they 
do not quite come up to our foxes.' For proceeding 
next to the red fox of America, he says 4 they are en- 
tirely the same with the European sort ;' which shows 
he had in view one European sort only, which was the 
red. So that the result of their testimony is, that the 
American gray fox is somewhat less than the European 
red ; which is equally true of the gray fox of Europe, 
as may be seen by comparing the measures of the Count 
de Buffon and Mons. D'Aubenton.|| The white bear 
of America is as large as that of Europe, The bones 
of the mammoth which have been found in America, are 
as large as those found in the old world. It may be 
asked, why I insert the mammoth, as if it still existed ? 
I ask in return, why I should omit it, as if it did not 
exist? Such is the economy of nature, that no in- 
stance can be produced, of her having permitted any 
one race of her animals to become extinct; of her hav- 
ing formed any link in her great work so weak as to be 
broken. To add to this, the traditionary testimony of 
the Indians, that this animal still exists in the northern 
and western parts of America, would be adding the 
light of a taper to that of the meridian sun. Those 
parts still remain in their aboriginal state, unexplored^ 
and undisturbed by us, or by others for us. He may 
as well exist there now, as he did formerly where we 
find his bones. If he be a carnivorous animal, as some 



*XV.42. t I. 359. 1. 48. 221. 251. II. 52. % IL 78. $ 1.220. 
|J XXVII. 63. XIV. 119. Harris, II. 387. Buffon. Quad. IX. 1. 



53 



anatomists have conjectured, and the Indians affirm? 
his early retirement maybe accounted for from the ge- 
neral destruction of the wild game by the Indians, 
which commences in the first instant of their connex- 
ion with us, for the purpose of purchasing match coats, 
hatchets, and firelocks with their skins. There remain 
then the buffaloe, red deer, fallow deer, wolf, roe, 
glutton, wild cat, rnonax, vison, hedgehog, marten, and 
water rat, of the comparative sizes of which we have 
not sufficient testimony. It does not appear that 
Messrs. de BufFon and L'Aubenton have measured, 
weighed, or seen those of America. It is said of some 
of them, by some travellers, that they are smaller than 
the European. But who were these travellers ? Have 
they not been men of a very different description from 
those who have laid open to us the other three quar- 
ters of the world ? Was natural history the object of 
their travels ? Did they measure or weigh the animals 
they speak of? or did they not judge of them by sight, 
or perhaps even from report only ? Were they ac- 
quainted with the animals of their own country, with 
which they undertake to compare them ? Have they 
not been so ignorant as often to mistake the species ? 
A true answer to these questions would probably light- 
en their authority, so as to render it insufficient for the 
foundation of an hypothesis. How unripe we yet are, 
for an accurate comparison of the animals of the two 
countries, will appear from the work of Monsieur de 
BufFon. The ideas we should have formed of the sizes 
of some animals, from the information he had received 
at his first publications concerning them are very dif- 
ferent from what his subsequent communications give 
us. And indeed his candour in this can never be too 
much praised. One sentence of his book must do him 
immortal honour. ' J'aime autante une personne qui 
me releve d'une erreur, qu'une autre qui rn'apprend 
une verite, parce qu'en effect une erreur corrigee est 
une verite,'* He seems to have thought the cabiai he 



* Quad. IX. 158. 
5* 



54 



first examined wanted little of its full growth. 4 Jl tre- 
toit pas encore tout-a-fait adulte.'* Yet he weighed 
but 46 l-2lb. and he found afterwards,! that these ani- 
mals, when full grown, weigh 1001b. He had supposed, 
from the examination of a jugar, J said to be two years 
old, which weighed but 161b. 12oz. that when he should 
have acquired his full growth, he would not be larger 
than a middle sized dog. But a subsequent account § 
raises his weight to 2001b. Further information will, 
doubtless, produce further corrections. The wonder is, 
not that there is yet something in this great work to 
correct, but that there is so little. The result of this 
view then is, that of 26 quadrupeds common to both 
countries, 7 are said to be larger in America, 7 of equal 
size, and 12 not sufficiently examined. So that the 
first table impeaches the first member of the assertion, 
that of the animals common to both countries, the 
American are smallest, 'el cela sans aucune exception.' 
It shows it not just, in all the latitude in which its 
author has advanced it, and probably not to such a 
degree as to found a distinction between the two coun- 
tries. 

Proceeding to the second table, which arranges the 
animals found in one of the two countries only, Mons. 
de BufFon observes, that the tapir, the elephant of Ame- 
rica, is but of the size of a small cow. To preserve 
our comparison, I will add, that the wild boar, the ele- 
phant of Europe, is little more than half that size. I 
have made an elk with round or cylindrical horns an 
animal of America, and peculiar to it ; because I have 
seen many of them myself, and more of their horns; 
and because I can say., from the best information, that, 
in Virginia, this kind of elk has abounded much, and 
still exists in smaller numbers ; and 1 could never learn 
that the palmated kind had been seen here at alL I 
suppose this confined to the more northern latitudes. || 

* XXV. 134. t Quad. IX. 132. J XIX. 2. & Quad. IX. 41. 

|| The descriptions of Theodat, Denys and La Honton, cited 
by Mons. de Buffon, under the article Elan, authorise the sup- 
position, that the flat horned elk is found in the northern parts 



55 



I have made our hare or rabbit peculiar, believing it to 
be different from both the European animals of those 

of America. It ha3 not, however, extended to our latitudes. 
On the other hand, I could never learn that the round horned 
elk has been seen further north than the Hudson's river. This 
agrees with the former elk in its general character, being, like 
that, when compared with a deer, very much larger, its ears 
longer, broader, and thicker in proportion, its hair much long- 
er, neck and tail shorter, having a dewlap before the breast 
(caruncula gutturalis Linna^i) a white spot often, if not always, 
of a foot diameter, on the hinder part of the buttocks round 
the tail; its gait a trot, and attended with a rattling of the 
hoofs; but distinguished from that decisively by its horns, 
which are not palmated, bt»t t round and pointed. This is the 
animal described byCatesby as the Cervus major Americanus, 
the stag of America, le Cerf de f Amerique. But it differs from 
the Cervus as totally, as does the palmated elk from the dama. 
And in fact it seems to stand in the same relation to the palmat- 
ed elk, as the red deer does to the fallow. It has abounded in 
Virginia, has been seen, within my knowledge, on the eastern 
side of the Blue ridge since the year 1765, is now common be- 
yond those mountains, has been often brought to us and tamed, 
and its horns are in the hands of many. I should designate ag 
the 1 Alces Americanus cornibus terretibus. ' It were to be wish- 
ed, that naturalists, who are acquainted with the renne and elk, 
of Europe, and who may hereafter visit the northern parts of 
America, would examine well the animals called there by the 
names of gray and black moose, caribou, original and elk, 
Mons. de Buffon has done what could be done from the materi- 
als in his hands, towards clearing up the confusion introduced 
by the loose application of these names among the animals they 
are meant to designate. He reduces the whole to the renne and 
flat horned elk. From all the information I have been able to 
collect, I strongly suspect they will be found to cover three, if 
not four distinct species of animals. I have seen skins of a 
moose, and of the caribou : they differ more from each other, 
and from that of the round horned elk, than I ever saw two 
skins differ which belonged to different individuals of any wild 
species. These differences are in the colour, length, and coarse- 
ness of the hair, and in the size, texture and marks of the skin. 
Perhaps it will be found that there is, 1. The moose, black and 
gray, the former being said to be the male, and the latter the fe- 
male, 2. The caribou or renne. 3. The flat horned elk, or ori- 
ginal. 4. The round horned elk. Should this last, though pos- 



56 



denominations, and calling it therefore by its Algon- 
quin name, Whabus, to keep it distinct from these. 
Kalm is of the same opinion.* I have enumerated the 
squirrels according to our own knowledge derived from 
the daily sight of them, because 1 am not able to recon- 
cile with that the European appellations and descrip- 
tions. I have heard of other species but they have 
never come within my own notice. These, 1 think, 
are the only instances in which I have departed from 
the authority of Mons. de Buffon in the construction of 
this table. I take him for my ground work, because I 
think him the best informed of any naturalist who has 
ever written. The result is, that there are 18 quadru- 
peds peculiar to Europe ; more than four times as many, 
to wit 74, peculiar to America; that thef first of these 
74 weighs more than the whole column of Europeans ; 
and consequently this second table disproves the second 
member of the assertion, that the animals peculiar to 
the new world are on a smaller scale, so far as that as- 
sertion relied on European animals for support: and it 
is in full opposition to the theory which makes the ani- 
mal volume to depend on the circumstances of heat and 
moisture. 

The third table comprehends those quadrupeds only 
which are domestic in both countries. That some of 
these, in some parts of America have become less than 

sessing so nearly the characters of the elk, be found to be the 
same with the Cerf d'Ardennes or Brandhirtz of Germany, still 
there will remain the three species first enumerated. 
* Kalm 11.340, I. 82. 

t The Tapir is the largest of the animals peculiar to Ame- 
rica. 1 collect his weight thus. Mons. de Buffon says, XXIII. 
274, that he is of the size of a Zebu, or a small cow. He gives 
us the measures of a Zebu, ib. 94. as taken by himself, viz. 5 feet 
7 inches from the muzzle to the root of the tail, and 5 feet 1 inch 
circumference behind the fore legs. A bull, measuring in the 
same way G feet 9 inches and 5 feet 2 inches, weighed 6001b. 
VIII. 153. The Zebu then, and of course the Tapir, would 
weigh about 5001b. But one individual of every species of Eu- 
ropean peculiars would probably weigh less than 4001b. These 
are French measures and weights. 



57 



their original stock, is doubtless true ; and the reason 
is very obvious. In a thinly peopled country, the spon- 
taneous productions of the forests and waste fields are 
sufficient to support indifferently the domestic animals 
of the farmer, with a very little aid from him in the se- 
verest and scarcest season. He therefore finds it more 
convenient to receive them from the hand of nature in 
that indifferent state, thantto keep up their size by a 
care and nourishment which would cost him much la- 
bour. If, on this low fare, these animals dwindle, it is 
no more than they do in those parts of Europe where 
the poverty of the soil, or poverty of the owner, redu- 
ces them to the same scanty subsistence. It is the uni- 
form effect of one and the same cause, whether acting 
on this or that side of the globe. It would be erring, 
therefore against that rule of philosophy, which teach- 
es us to ascribe like effects to like causes, should we 
impute this diminution of size in America to any imbe- 
cility or want of uniformity in the operations of nature. 
It may be affirmed with truth, that, in those countries 
and with thoje individuals of America, where necessity 
or curiosity has produced equal attention as in Europe 
to the nourishment of animals, the horses, cattle, sheep, 
and hogs of the one continent are as large as those of 
the other. There are particular instances, well attest- 
ed, where individuals of this country have imported 
good breeders from England, and have improved their 
size by care in the course of some years. To make a 
fair comparison between the two countries, it will not 
answer to bring together animals of what might be 
deemed the middle or ordinary size of their species ; 
because an error in judging of that middle or ordinary 
size would vary the result of the comparison. Thus 
Mons. D'Aubenton* considers a horse of 4 feet 5 inches 
high and 4001b. weight French, equal to 4 feet 8.6 inches 
and 4361b English, as a middle sized horse. Such a 
one is deemed a small horse in America. The ex- 
tremes must therefore be resorted to. The same ana- 



* VII. 432. 



58 



tomist* dissected a horse of 5 feet 9 inches height, French 
measure, equal to 6 feet 1.7 English. This is near 6 
inches higher than any horse I have seen : and could 
it be supposed that 1 had seen the largest horses in 
America, the conclusion would be, that ours have di- 
minished, or that we have bred from a smaller stock. 
In Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the climate 
is favourable to the production of grass, bullocks have 
been slaughtered which weighed 2500, 2200, and 21- 
001b. nett; and those of J 8001b. have been frequent. 1 
have seen a hogf weigh 10501b. after the blood, bowels, 
and hair had been taken from him. Before he was 
killed, an attempt was made to weigh him with a pair of 
steel-yards, graduated to 12001b. but he weighed more. 
Yet this hog was probably not within 50 generations of 
the European stock. I am well informed of another 
which weighed 11001b. gross. Asses have been still 
more neglected than any other domestic animal in 
America. They are neither fed nor housed in the most 
rigorous season of the year. Yet they are larger than 
those measured by Mons. D'AubentonJ of 3 feet 7 1-4 
inches, 3 feet 4 inches, and 3 feet 2 1-2 inches, the lat- 
ter weighing only 215.81b. These sizes, I suppose, 
have been produced by the same negligence in Europe, 
which has produced a like diminution here. Where 
care has been taken of them on that side of the water, 
they have been raised to a size bordering on that of a 
horse ; not by the heat and dryness of the climate, but 
by good food and shelter. Goats have been also much 
neglected in America. Yet they are very prolific here, 
bearing twice or three times a year, and from one to 
five kids at a birth. Mons. de Buffon has been sensible 
of a difference in this circumstance in favour of Ameri- 
ca.§ But what are their greatest weights, I cannot say. 
A large sheep here weighs 1001b. I observe Mons. 
D'Aubenton calls a ram of 621b. one of the middle 
size. || But to say what are the extremes of growth in 



* VII. 474. t In Williamsburg, April 1769. $ VIII. 43. 55. 66. 
I XVIII. 96. || IX. 41. 



59 



these arid the other domestic animals of America, would 
require information of which no one individual is pos- 
sessed. The weights actually known and stated in the 
third table preceding will suffice to show, that we may 
conclude, on probable grounds, that, with equal food and 
care, the climate of America will preserve the races of 
domestic animals as large as the European stock from 
which they are derived ; and consequently that the third 
member of Mons. de BufFon's assertion, that the domes- 
tic animals are subject to degeneration from the climate 
of America, is as probably wrong as the first and sec- 
ond were certainly so. 

That the last part of it is erroneous, which affirms 
that the species of American quadrupeds are compara- 
tively few, is evident from the tables taken together. 
By these it appears that there are an hundred species 
aboriginal of America. Mons. de BufTon supposes about 
double that number existing on the whole earth.* Of 
these Europe, Asia and Africa, furnish suppose 126; 
that is, the 26 common to Europe and America, and 
about 100 which are not in America at all. The Ameri- 
can species then are to those of the rest of the earth, as 
J 00 to 126, or 4 to 5. But the residue of the earth be- 
ing double the extent of America, the exact proportion 
would have been but as 4 to 8. 

Hitherto 1 have considered this hypothesis as applied 
to brute animals only, and not in its extension to the 
man of America, whether aboriginal or transplanted. 
It is the opinion of Mons. de BurTon that the former fur- 
nishes no exception to it.f 8 Quoique le sauvage du 
nouveau monde soit a peupres de meme stature que Vhomme 
de notre monde, cela ne suffit pas pour quHl puisse faii'e 
une exception au fait general du rapetissement de la nature 
vivante dans tout ce continent: le sauvage est foible petit 
par les organes de la generation ; il n'a ni poil, ni barbe, 

nulle ardeur pour sa femelle. Quoique plus leger que 
VEuropden, parce quHl a plus d'habitude a courir, il est 
ctpendant beaucoup moins fort de corps ; il est aussi bim 



* XXX. 219. 



t xviii. 146. 



60 



moins sensible, cependant plus craintif plus lache ; 
il ri>a nulle viva cite , nulle activite dans Vame; celle du 
corps est moins un exercice, un mouvement voluntaire 
qu-une necessiU d' action causee par le besoin ; otez lui la 
/aim la soif vous detruirez en meme temps le principe 
actif de tous ses mouvemens ; il demeurera stuvidement en 
repos sur ses jambts ou couche pendant des jours entiers. 
II ne faut pas aller chercher plus loin la cause de la vie 
dispersee des sauvages ^ de leur eloignement pour la 
socitte : la plus precieuse eiincelle du feu de la nature leur 
a ete 1 refusee ; Us manquent d'ardeur pour leur femelle, If 
par consequent d? amour pour leur semblables : ne connois- 
sant pas Vattachment le plus vif, le plus tendre de tons, 
leurs autres sentimens de ce genre, sont froids languis- 
sans : Us aiment foiblement leurs peres leurs enfans ; la 
sociHe la plus intime de toutes, celle de la mime famille, 
n'a done chez eux que de foibles liens ; la societe d'une 
famille a V autre n y en a point de tout: des lors nulle 
reunion, nulle republique, nulle etat social. La physique 
de V amour fait chez eux le moral des mceurs ; leur cozur est 
glace, leur societe leur empire dur. lis ne regardent 
leurs femmes que comme des servantes de peine ou des betes 
de somme quails char gent, sans management, du fardeau de 
leur chasse, & quails forcent, sans pitie, sans reconnois- 
sance, a des ouvrages qui souvent sont audessus de leurs 
forces : Us n'ont que pen d'enfans ; Us en ont pen de soin : 
tout se ressent de leur premier defaut ; Us sont indifferents 
parce quHls sont peu puissants, cette indifference pour la 
sexe est la tache originelle qui fletrit la nature, qui Vem- 
piche de s'epanouir, qui dttruisant les germes de la vie, 
coupe en meme temps la racine de la societe. IPhomme ne 
fait done point d^exception ici. La nature en lui refusant 
les puissances de V amour Va plus maltraite plus rapetisse 
qu'aucun des animaux." An afflicting picture, indeed, 
which for the honour of human nature, I am glad to be- 
lieve has no original. Of the Indian of South America 
I know nothing; for I would not honour with the ap- 
pellation of knowledge, what I derive from the fables 
published of them. These I believe to be just as true 
as the fables of Esop. This belief is founded on what 



61 



I have seen of man, white, red and black, and what has 
been written of him by authors, enlightened themselves, 
and writing amidst an enlightened people. The Indian 
of North America being more within our reach, I can 
speak of him somewhat from my own knowledge, but Jt 
more from the information of others better acquainted 
with him, and on whose truth and judgment I can rely. 
From these sources I am able to say, in contradiction 
to this representation, that he is neither more defective 
in ardour, nor more impotent with his female, than the 
white reduced to the same diet and exercise: that he 
is brave, when an enterprise depends on bravery ; edu- 
cation with hirn making the point of honour consist in 
the destruction of an enemy by stratagem, and in the 
preservation of his own person free from injury: or 
perhaps this is nature ; while it is education which 
teaches us to* honour force more than finesse ; that he 
will defend himself against a host of enemies, always 
choosing to be killed, rather than to surrender,! though 

* Sol Rodomonte sprezza di venire. 
Se non, dove la via meno e sicura. Ariosto. 14. 117. 

t In so judicious an author as Don Ulloa, and one to whom 
we are indebted for the most precise information we have of 
South America, I did not expect to find such assertions as the 
following: 'Los Indios vencidos son Jos mas cobardes y pusi- 
lanimes que se pueden ver : Se hacen inocentes, le humillan 
hasta el desprecio, disculpan su inconsiderado arrojo, y con las 
suplicas y los ruegos dan seguras pruebus de su pusilanimidad. — 
6 lo que refieren las historias de la Conquista, sobve sus grandes 
acciones, es en tin sendito figurado, 6 el caracter de estas gentes 
no es ahora segun era entonces; pero lo que no tiene duda es, 
que las naciones de la parte Septentrional subsisten en la misma 
libertad que siempre han tenido, sin haber sido sojuzgados por 
algun Principe extrano, y que viven segun su regimen y costum- 
bres de toda la vida, sin que haya habido motivo para que muden 
de caracter; y en estos se ve lo mismo, que sucede en los del 
Peru, y de toda la America Meridional, reducidos, y que nunca 
lo han estado.' Noticias Americanas, Entretenimiento xvtii. 
\ 1. Don Ulloa here admits, that the authors who have describ- 
ed the Indians of South America, before they were enslaved, had 
represented them as a brave people, and therefore seems to have 



62 



it be to the whites, who he knows will treat him well t 
that in other situations also he meets death with more 
deliberation, and endures tortures with a firmness un- 
known almost to religious enthusiasm with us : that lie 
is affectionate to his children, careful of them, and in- 
dulgent in the extreme: that his affections comprehend 
his other connexions, weakening, as with us, from cir- 
cle to circle, as they recede from the centre : that his 
friendships are strong and faithful to the uttermost* ex- 
suspected that the cowardice which he had observed in those of 
the present race might be the effect of subjugation. But, suppos- 
ing the Indians of North America to be cowards also, he concludes 
the ancestors of those of South America to have been so too, and 
therefore that those authors have given fictions for truth. He was 
probably not acquainted himself with the Indians of North Ameri- 
ca, and had formed his opinion of them from hear-say. Great 
numbers of French, of English, and of Americans, are perfectly 
acquainted with these people. Had he had an opportunity of 
enquiring of any of these, they would have told him, that there 
never was an instance known of an Indian begging his life when 
in the power of his enemies : on the contrary, that he courts 
death by every possible insult and provocation. His reasoning 
then would have been reversed thus. i Since the present Indian 
of North America is brave, and authors tell us, that the ances- 
tors of those of South America were brave also ; it must follow, 
that the cowardice of their descendants is the effect of subjuga- 
tion and ill treatment.' For he observes, ib. £ 27, that < los 
obrages los aniquillan por la inhumanidad con que se les trata.' 

* A remarkable instance of this appeared in the case of the 
late Col. Byrd, who was sent to the Cherokee nation to transact 
some business with them. It happened that some of our dis- 
orderly people had just killed one or two of that nation. It was 
therefore proposed in the council of the Cherokees that Col. Byrd 
should be put to death, in revenge for the loss of their country- 
men. Among them was a chief called Silouee, who, on some 
former occasion, had contracted an acquaintance and friendship 
with Col. Byrd. He came to him every night in his tent, and 
told him not to be afraid, they should not kill him. After many 
days' deliberation, however, the determination was, contrary to 
Silouee's expectation, that Byrd should be put to death, and some 
warriors were despatched as executioners. Silouee attended 
them, and when they entered the tent, he threw himself between 
them and Byrd, and said to the warriors, c This man is my 



63 



trernity: thai his sensibility is keen, even the warriors 
weeping most bitterly on the loss of their children, 
though in general they endeavour to appear superior to 
human events: that his vivacity and activity of mind is 
equal to ours in the same situation ; hence his eagerness 
for hunting, and for games of chance. The women are 
submitted to unjust drudgery. This I believe is the case 
with every barbarous people. With such, force is law. 
The stronger sex therefore imposes on the weaker. It 
is civilization alone which replaces women in the en- 
joyment of their natural equality. That first teaches 
us to subdue the selfish passions, and to respect those 
rights in others which we value in ourselves. Were 
we in equal barbarism, our females would be equal 
drudges. The man with them is less strong than with 
us, but their women stronger than ours; and both for 
the same obvious reason ; because our man and their 
woman is habituated to labour, and formed by it. With 
both races the sex which is indulged with ease is least 
athletic. An Indian man is small in the hand and 
wrist, for the same reason for which a sailor is large 
and strong in the arms and shoulders, and a porter in 
the legs and thighs. They raise fewer children than 
we do. The causes of this are to be found, not in a 
difference of nature, but of circumstance. The women 
very frequently attending the men in their parties of war 
and of hunting, child-bearing becomes extremely incon- 
venient to them. It is said, therefore, that they have 
learned the practice of procuring abortion by the use of 
some vegetable; and that it even extends to prevent 
conception for a considerable time after. During these 
parties they are exposed to numerous hazards, to ex- 
cessive exertions, and to the greatest extremities of 
hunger. Even at their homes the nation depends for 
food, through a certain part of every year, on the glean- 
ings of the forest : that is, they experience a famine 
once in every year. With all animals, if the female be 

friend : before you get at him, you must kill me.' On which 
they returned, and the council respected the principle so much as 
to recede from their determination. 



64 



badly fed, or not fed at all, her young perish: and if 
both male and female be reduced to like want, genera- 
tion becomes less active, less productive. To the ob- 
stacles then of want and hazard, which nature has op- 
posed to the multiplication of wild animals, for the 
purpose of restraining their numbers within certain 
bounds, those of labour and of voluntary abortion are 
added with the Indian. No wonder then if they multi- 
ply less than we do. Where food is regularly supplied, 
a single farm will show more of cattle, than a whole 
country of forests can of buffaloes. The same Indian 
women, when married to white traders, who feed them 
and their children plentifully and regularly, who exempt 
them from excessive drudgery, who keep them station- 
ary and unexposed to accident, produce and raise as 
many children as the white women. Instances are 
known under these circumstances, of their rearing a 
dozen children. An inhuman practice once prevailed 
in this country, of making slaves of the Indians. It is a 
fact well known with us, that the Indian women so 
enslaved produced and raised as numerous families as 
either the whites or blacks among whom they lived. 
It has been said, that Indians have less hair than the 
whites, except on the head. But this is a fact of which 
fair proof can scarcely be had. With them it is dis- 
graceful to be hairy on the body. They say it likens 
them to hogs. They therefore pluck the hair as fast as 
it appears. But the traders who marry their women, 
and prevail on them to discontinue this practice, say, 
that nature is the same with them as with the whites. 
Nor, if the fact be true, is the consequence necessary 
which has been drawn from it. Negroes have noto- 
riously less hair than the whites; yet they are more ar- 
dent. But if cold and moisture be the agents of nature 
for diminishing the races of animals, how comes she all 
at once to suspend their operation as to the physical 
man of the new world, whom the Count acknowledges 
to be 1 a peu presde merne stature que l'homrnede notre 
monde,' and to let loose their influence on his moral 
faculties ? How has this Combination of the elements 



65 



and other physical causes, so contrary to the enlarge- 
ment of animal nature in this new world, these obsta- 
cles to the developement and formation of great germs,'* 
been arrested and suspended, so as to permit the human 
body to acquire its just, dimensions, and by what incon- 
ceivable process has their action been directed on his 
mind alone? To judge of the truth of this, to form a 
just estimate of their genius and mental powers, more 
facts are wanting, and great allowance to be made for 
those circumstances of their situation which call for a 
display of particular talents only. This done, we shall 
probably find that they are formed in mind as well as 
in body, on the same module with thef * Homo sapiens 
Europseus.' The principles of their society forbidding 
all compulsion, they are to be led to duty and to enter- 
prize by personal influence and persuasion. Hence 
eloquence in council, bravery and success in war, become 
the foundations of all consequence with them. To these 
acquirements all their faculties are directed. Of their 
bravery and address in war we have multiplied proofs, 
because we have been the subjects on which they were 
exercised. Of their eminence in oratory, we have fewer 
examples, because it is displayed chiefly in their own 
councils. Some, however, we iiave of very superior 
lustre. I may challenge the whole orations of Demos- 
thenes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, 
if Europe has furnished any more eminent, to pro- 
duce a single passage, superior to the speech of Lo- 
gan, a Mingo chief, to Lord Dun more, when governor 
of this state. And, as a testimony of their talents in 
this line, I beg leave to introduce it, first stating the 
incidents necessary for understanding it. 

In the spring of the year 1774, a robbery was com- 
mitted by some Indians on certain land adventurers on 
the river Ohio. The whites in that quarter, according 
to their custom, undertook to punish this outrage in a 
summary way. Captain Michael Cresap, and a certain 
Daniel Greathouse, leading on these parties, surprised, 

* XVIII. 146. t Linn. Syst. Definition of a Man. 

6* 



66 



at different times, travelling and hunting parties of the 
Indians, having their women and children with them, 
and murdered many. Among these were unfortunate- 
ly the family of Logan, a chief celebrated in peace and 
war, and long distinguished as the friend of the whites. 
This unworthy return provoked his vengeance. He 
accordingly signalized himself in the war which ensu- 
ed. In the autumn of the same year a decisive battle 
was fought at the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, be- 
tween the collected forces of the Shavvanese, Mingoes 
and Delawares, and a detachment of the Virginia mili- 
tia. The Indians were defeated and sued for peace. 
Logan, however, disdained to be seen among the sup- 
pliants. But lest the sincerity of a treaty should be dis- 
turbed, from which so distinguished a chief absented 
himself, he sent, by a messenger, the following speech, 
to be delivered to Lord Bun more. 

' I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he enter- 
ed Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat: 
if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him 
not. During the course of the last long and bloody 
war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate 
for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my 
countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, 4 Logan 
is the friend of white men.' I had even thought to have 
lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colo- 
nel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unpro- 
voked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even 
sparing my women and children. There runs not a 
drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. 
This called un me for revenge. I have sought it: I 
have killed many: I have fully glutted my vengeance: 
for my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But 
do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear. 
Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to 
save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? — Not 
one.' 

Before we condemn the Indians of this continent as 
wanting genius, we must consider that letters have not 
yet been introduced among them. Were we to com- 
pare them in their present state with the Europeans, 



67 



North cnthe Alps, when the Roman arms and arts first 

crossed those mountains, the comparison would be un- 
equal, because, at that time, those parts of Europe were 
swarming with numbers; because numbers produce 
emulation, and multiply the chances of improvement, 
and one improvement begets another. Yet 1 m ay safe- 
ly ask, how many good poets, how many able mathe- 
maticians, how many great inventors in arts or sci- 
ences, had Europe, North of the Alps, then produced ? 
And it was sixteen centuries after this before a Newton 
could be formed. I do not mean to deny, that there 
are varieties in the race of man, distinguished by their 
powers both of body and mind. I believe there are, as 
I see to be the case in the races of other animals. I 
only mean to suggest a doubt, whether the bulk and 
faculties of animals depend on the side of the Atlantic 
on which their food happens to grow, or which fur- 
nishes the elements of which they are compounded ? 
Whether nature has enlisted herself as a Cis or Trans- 
Atlantic partisan? I am indeed to suspect, there has 
been more eloquence than sound reasoning displayed 
in support of this theory ; that it is one of those cases 
where the judgment has been seduced by a glowing 
pen: and whilst I render every tribute of honour and 
esteem to the celebrated zoologist, who has added, and 
is still adding, so many precious things to the treasures 
of science, I must doubt wbether in this instance he has 
not cherished error also, by lending her for a moment 
his vivid imagination and bewitching language. (4) 

So far the Count de Buffon has carried his new theo- 
ry of the tendency of nature to belittle her productions 
on this side the Atlantic. Its application to the race of 
whites, transplanted from Europe, remained for the 
Abbe Ray rial. ' On doit etre etonn6 (lie says,) que TA- 
merique li'ait pas encore produit un bon poete, un ha- 
bile mathematicien, un homme de genie dans un seul 
art, on une seule science.' Hist. Philos. p. 92. ed. Mae- 
stricht. 1774. 4 America has not yet produced one good 
poet.' When we shall have existed as a people as long 
as the Greeks did before they produced a Homer, the 



68 



Romans a Virgil, the French a Racine and Voltaire, 
the English a Shakspeare and Milton, should this re- 
proach be still true, we will enquire from what un- 
friendly causes it ;has proceeded, that the other coun- 
tries of Europe and quarters of the earth shall not have 
inscribed any name in the roll of poets.* But neither 
has America produced 1 one able mathematician, one 
man of genius in a single art or a single science.' In 
war we have produced a Washington, whose memory 
will be adored while liberty shall have votaries, whose 
name will triumph over time, and will in future ages 
assume its just station among the most celebrated wor- 
thies of the world, when that wretched philosophy shall 
be forgotten which would have arranged him among 
the degeneracies of nature. In physics we have pro- 
duced a Franklin, than whom no one of the present age 
has made more important discoveries, nor has enriched 
philosophy with more, or more ingenious solutions of 
the phenomena of nature. We have supposed Mr Rit- 
tenhouse second to no astronomer living : that in ge- 
nius he must be the first, because he is self-taught. As 
an artist he has exhibited as great a proof of mechani- 
cal genius as the world has ever produced. He has 
not indeed made a world ; but he has by imitation ap- 
proached nearer its Maker than any man who has Jiv- 
ed from the creation to this day.f As in philosophy 
and war, so in government, in oratory, in painting, in 
the plastic art, we might show that America, though 

* Has the world as yet produced more than two poets, ac- 
knowledged to be such by all nations? An Englishman, only, 
reads Milton with delight, an Italian Tasso, a Frenchman the 
Henriade ; a Portuguese) Camoens; but Homer and Virgil have 
been the rapture of every age and nation: they are read with 
enthusiasm in their originals by those who can read the originals, 
and in translations by those who cannot. 

t There are various ways of keeping truth out of sight. Mr 
Rittenhouse's model of the planetary system has the plagiary 
appelletion of an Orrery ; and the quadrant invented by God- 
frey, an American also, and with the aid of which the European 
nations traverse the globe, is called Hadley's quadrant. 



69 



but a child of yesterday, has already given hopeful 
proofs of genius, as well of the nobler kinds, which 
arouse the best feelings of man, which call him into ac- 
tion, which substantiate his freedom, and conduct him 
to happiness, as of the subordinate, which serve to 
amuse him only. We therefore suppose, that this re- 
proach is as unjust as it is unkind ; and that, of the ge- 
niuses which adorn the present age, America contri- 
butes its full share. For comparing it with those coun- 
tries, where genius is most cultivated, where are the 
most excellent models for art, and scaffoldings for the 
attainment of science, as France and England for in- 
stance, we calculate thus: The United States contain 
three millions of inhabitants; France twenty millions; 
and the British islands ten. We produce a Washing- 
ton, a Franklin, a Rittenhouse. France then should 
have half a dozen in each of these lines, and Great Bri- 
tain half that number, equally eminent. It may be true, 
that France has : we are but just becoming acquainted 
with her, and our acquaintance so far gives us high 
ideas of the genius of her inhabitants. It would be in- 
juring too many of them to name particularly a Vol- 
taire, a Buffori, the constellation of Encyclopedists, the 
Abbe Raynal himself, &c. &c. We therefore have rea- 
son to believe she can produce her full quota of genius. 
The present war having so long cut oft' all communica- 
tion with Great Britain, we are not able to make a fair 
estimate of the state of science in that country. The 
spirit in which she wages war, is the only sample be- 
fore our eyes, and that does not seem the legitimale off- 
spring either of science or of civilization. The sun of 
her glory is fast descending to the horizon. Her phi- 
losophy has crossed the channel, her freedom the At- 
lantic, and herself seems passing to that awful dissolu- 
tion, whose issue is not given human foresight to scan.* 

* In a later edition of the Abbe Raynafs work, he has with- 
drawn his censure from that part of the. new world inhabited by 
the Federo-Americans ; but has left it still on the other parts. 
-North America has always been more accessible to strangers 



70 



Having given a sketch of our minerals, vegetables, 
and quadrupeds, and being led by a proud theory to 
make a comparison of the latter with those of Kurope, 
and to extend it to the man of America, both aboriginal 
and emigrant, I will proceed to the remaining articles 
comprehended under the present query. 

Between ninety and an hundred of our birds have 
been described by Catesby. His drawings are better 
as to form and attitude, than colouring, which is gene- 
rally too high. They are the following: 

than South. If he was mistaken then as to the former, he may 
be so as to the latter. The glimmerings which reach us from 
South America enable us only to see that its inhabitants are held 
under the accumulated pressure of sin very, superstition, and ig- 
norance. Whenever they shall be able to rise under thi~ weight, 
and to show themselves to the rest of the world, they will proba- 
bly show they are like the rest of the world. We have not yet 
sufficient evidence that. there are more lakes and fogs in South 
America than in other parts of the earth. As little do we know 
what would be their operation on the mind of man. That coun- 
try has been visited by Spaniards and Portuguese chiefly, and 
almost exclusively. These, going from a country of the old 
world remarkably dry in its soil and climate, fancied there were 
more lakes and fogs in South America than in Europe. An in- 
habitant of Ireland, Sweden, or Finland would have formed the 
contrary opinion. Had South America then been discovered and 
settled by a people from a fenny country, it would probably have 
been represented as much drier than the old world. A patient 
pursuit of facts, and cautious combination and comparison of 
them, is the drudgery to which man is subjected by his Maker $ 
if he wishes to attain sure knowledge. 



71 



i I 

O 


OO i»Q CO CO 0"5 <—> CO *rr 00 ™~ CM CT1 f^l CO CTS *-0 GO *o 

a: rf< ro MMQT ? co(ti»-<^r:!0?Dc*coxnOfi'H-* 
eo CM ^ w CO - ^ « - CO CO r- ^ • ^ r ^ ^ - 
CO^-r-H ^-COi-i— f-<iO^O>0<ri— i-<^-f-i^C0G0CO?3 
CO — — t—i r-i t— 1 

CN 






Popular Names. 


Tyrant. Field marten, 
Turkey buzzard, 
Bald eagle. 

Little hawk. Sparrow hawk. 
Pigeon hawk, 
Forked tail hawk, 
Fishing hawk, 
Little owl, 

Parrot of Carolina. Perroquet, 

Blue jay, 

Baltimore bird, 

Bastard Baltimore, 

Purple jackdaw. Crow blackbird 

Carolina cuckow, 

White bill woodpecker, 

Larger red-crested woodpecker, 

Red headed woodpecker, 

Gold winged woodpecker. Yucki 

Red bellied woodpecker, 

Smallest spotted woodpecker, 

Hairy woodpecker. Spec, woodpec 

Yellow-bellied woodpecker, 




^<X)»— lnC0^^t'^^CSC^- 3 <^^^OrCC:^--la:»-^ 


Catesby's Designation. 


© 

& -r; ~ <u 

n Ed "a 

- > -* — 

*c cj (X, "~ s qui 

- o o !S -.5 2> «f £- = « 2' E 5 o £ •£ *• 

PO" Cf=-c'« - Cr:j S » « U- u'= 0"S 
8 -r *S S- S o « « 2 °- 1 S - «* u £ a S 2 

p, -S- ■ ■ £ £ £ 03 -S • * e "5 ~ g £ £ t « * 

u * cs 2 ^ TV) « * = - = 4> = > > = > 

? S 2 \~ °" ^ £- :a ^ — 3 u 5 - -w> <k oo w us. v. w 

= = 5**8 *5 c -7 5 £ £ 5 5 5 -5 5 5 5 t S 0 


Linnaean designation. 


Lamas iyrannus, 
Vullur aura, 
Falco leucocephalus, 
Falco sparverius, 
Falco columbarius, 
Falco furcatus, 

Strix asio, 

Psittacus Caroliniensis, 
Corvus cristatus, 
Oriolus Baltimore, 
Oriolus spurius, 
Cracula quiscula, 
Cuculus Americanus, 
Picus principalis, 
Picus pilealus, 
Picus erythrocephalus, 
Picus auratus, 
Picus Carolinus, 
Picus pubescens, 
Picus villosus, 
Picus varius, 



72 



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73 



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75 



Besides these, we have, 

The Royston crow. Corvuscor- 
nix. 

Crane. Arclea Canadensis. 
House swallow. Hirundo 

rustica. 
Ground swallow. Hirundo 

riparia. 
Greatest gray eagle. 
Smaller turkey buzzard, 

with a feathered head. 
Greatest owl, or night 

hawk. 

Wet hawk, which feeds 

flying. 
Raven. 

Water Pelican of the Mis- 
sissippi, whose pouch 
holds a peck. 

Swan. 

Loon. 

Cormorant. 



The duck and mallard. 
Widgeon. 

Sheldrach, or canvas back. 

Black head. 

Ballcoot. 

Sprigtail. 

Didapper, or dopchick. 
Spoon-billed duck. 
Water-witch. 
Water pheasant. 
Mow-bird. 
Blue Petre. 
Water Wagtail. 
Yellow-legged Snipe. 
Squatting Snipe. 
Small Plover. 
Whistling Plover. 
Woodcock. 

Red bird, with black head, 
wings and tail. 



And doubtless many others which have not yet been 
described and classed. 

To this catalogue of our indigenous animals, I will add 
a short account of an anomaly of nature, taking place 
sometimes in the race of negroes brought from Africa, 
who, though black themselves, have, in rare instances, 
white children, called Albinos. I have known four of 
these myself, and have faithful accounts of three others. 
The circumstances in which all the individuals agree, 
are these. They are of a pallid cadaverous white, un- 
tinged with red, without any coloured spots or seams; 
their hair of the same kind of white, short, coarse and 
curled as is that of the negro ; all of them well formed, 
strong, healthy, perfect in their senses, except that of 
sight, and born of parents who had no mixture of white 
blood. Three of these Albinos were sisters, having two 
other full sisters, who were black. The youngest of 
the three was killed by lightning, at twelve years of age. 
The eldest died at abou.t twenty-seven years of age, in 



76 



child-bed, with her second child. The middle one is 
now alive in health, and has issue, as the eldest had, by 
a black man, which issue was black. They are uncom- 
monly shrewd, quick in their apprehensions and in re- 
ply. Their eyes are in a perpetual tremulous vibra- 
tion, very weak, and much affected by the sun : but 
they see much better in the night than we do. They 
are the property of Col. Skip worth, of Cumberland. 
The fourth is a negro woman, whose parents came 
from Guinea, and had three other children, who were 
of their own colour. She is freckled, her eye-sight so 
weak that she is obliged to wear a bonnet in the sum- 
mer ; but it is better in the night than day. She had 
an Albino child by a black man. It died at the age of a 
few weeks. These were the property of Col. Carter, 
of Albemarle. A sixth instance is a woman of the pro- 
perty of Mr Butler, near Petersburg. She is stout and 
robust, has issue a daughter, jet black, by a black man. 
I am not informed as to her eye-sight. The seventh 
instance is of a male belonging to a Mr Lee of Cum- 
berland. His eyes are tremulous and weak. He is tall 
of stature, and now advanced in years. He is the only 
male of the Albinos which have come within my infor- 
mation. Whatever be the cause of the disease in the 
skin, or in its colouring matter, which produces this 
change, it seems more incident to the female than male 
sex. To these I may add the mention of a negro man 
within my own knowledge, born black, and of black 
parents; on whose chin, when a boy, a white spot ap- 
peared. This continued to increase till he became a 
man, by which time it had extended over his chin, lips, 
one cheek, the under jaw, and neck on that side. It is 
of the Albino white, without any mixture of red, and 
has for several years been stationary. He is robust and 
healthy, and the change of colour was not accompani- 
ed with any sensible disease, either general or topical. 

Of our fish and insects there has been nothing like a 
full description or collection. More of them are de- 
scribed in Catesby than in any other work. Many also 
are to be found in Sir Hans Sloane's Jamacia, as being 



77 



common to that and this country. The honey bee is 
not a native of our continent. Marcgrave indeed men- 
tions a species of honey-bee in Brasil. But this has no 
sting, and is therefore different from the one we have, 
which resembles perfectly that of Europe. The In- 
dians concur with us in the tradition that it was brought 
from Europe ; but when, and by whom, we know not. 
The bees have generally extended themselves into the 
country, a little in advance of the white settlers. The 
Indians therefore call them the white man's fly, and 
consider their approach as indicating the approach of 
the settlements of the whites. A question here occurs, 
How far northwardly have these insects been found ? 
That they are unknown in Lapland, 1 infer from Schef- 
fer's information, that the Laplanders eat the pine bark, 
prepared in a certain way, instead of those things 
sweetened with sugar. " Floe comedunt pro rebus sac- 
charo conditis." Scheff. Lapp. c. 18. Certainly if they 
had honey, it would be a better substitute for sugar 
than any preparation of the pine bark. Kaim tells 
us* the honey-bee cannot live through the winter in 
Canada. They furnish then an additional proof of the 
remarkable fact first observed by the Count de Buffon, 
and which has thrown such blaze of light on the field 
of natural history, that no animals are found in both 
continents, but those which are able to bear the cold of 
those regions where they probably join. 



QUERY VII. 

A notice of all that can increase the progress of hu- 
man knowledge ? 

Under the latitude of this query, I will presume it not 
improper nor unacceptable to furnish some data for es- 
timating the climate of Virginia. Journals of observa- 
tions on the quantity of rain, and degree of heat, being 



* 126. 



7* 



78 

lengthy, confused, and too minute to produce general 
and distinct ideas, I have taken five years' observa- 
tions, to wit, from 1772 to 1777, made in Williamsburgh 
and its neighbourhood, have reduced them to an ave- 
rage for every month in the year, and stated those 
averages in the following table, adding an analytical 
view of the winds during the same period, 



WINDS. | 


- 


GO 

CO 


GO 


CO 

CO 




GO 


t> 

CD 


CC 
GO 
CO 




MS 
CO 


o 

GO 
GO 




GO 


3698 


fe" 


CD 




CO 


o 

go 


O 

SM 


*q 

GO 




CO 


GO 


** 




CO 


cn 




o 


© 

CO 


cr. 

GO 


CO 


SO 
GO 


*0 
GO 


SO 
GO 


o 


CC 


GO 

G-* 


GO 


"x* 






cc 
l> 


GO 
CO 


CO 


»o 




CC 


>o 


CO 


CC 






O 


i a 

l en 










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CO 




CD 


© 


CD 


C75 


o 


5? 


CO 






GO 




CO 
GO 


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CO 


CC 


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CD 


GO 
SO 




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GO 


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CO 




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CO 


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tr- 




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IS 




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t> 


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GO 


GO 


GO 






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CC 


Least and greatest! 
daily heat by Faren- 
heit's thermometer. 


o 

2 

CO 
GO 




go 

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GO 
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79 



The rains of every month, (as of January, for in- 
stance) through the whole period of years, were added 
separately, and an average drawn from them. The cool- 
est and warmest point of the same day in each year of 
the period, were added separately, and an average of the 
greatest cold and greatest heat of that day, was formed. 
From the averages of every day in the month, a gene- 
ral average for the whole month was formed. The 
point from which the wind blew, was observed two or 
three times in every day. These observations, in the 
month of January, for instance, through the whole pe- 
riod, amounted to 337. At 73 of these, the wind was 
from the North ; 47 from the North-east, &e. So that 
it will be easy to see in what proportion each wind 
usually prevails in each month : or, taking the whole 
year, the total of observations through the wmole period 
having been 3898, it will be observed that Gil of them 
were from the North, 558 from the North-east, &c. 

Though by this table it appears we have on an ave- 
rage 47 inches of rain annually, which is considerably 
more than usually falls in Europe, yet from the in- 
formation 1 have collected, I suppose we have a much 
greater proportion of sunshine here than there. Per- 
haps it will be found, there are twice as many cloudy 
days in the middle parts of Europe, as in the United 
States of America. I mention the middle parts of Eu- 
rope, because my information does not extend to its 
Northern or Southern parts. 

In an extensive country, it will of course be expected 
that the climate is not the same in all its parts. It is 
remarkable, that, proceeding on the same parallel of 
latitude westwardly, the climate becomes colder in like 
manner as when you proceed northwardly. This con- 
tinues to be the case till you attain the summit of the 
Alleghaney, which is the highest land between the 
ocean and the Mississippi. From thence, descending 
in the same latitude to the Mississippi, the change re- 
verses ; and, if we may believe travellers, it becomes 
warmer there than it is in the same latitude on the 
sea side. Their testimony is strengthened by the vege- 



80 



tables and animals which subsist and multiply there 
naturally, and do not on our sea coast. Thus Catalpas 
grow spontaneously on the Mississippi, as far as the 
latitude of 37°, and reeds as far as 38°. Perroquets 
even winter on the Sciota, in the 39th degree of lati- 
tude. In the summer of 1779, when the thermometer 
was at 90° at Monticello, and 96 at Williamshurgh, it 
was 110° at Kaskaskia. Perhaps the mountain, which 
overhangs this village on the north side, may, by its 
reflection, have contributed somewhat to produce this 
heat. The difference of temperature of the air at the 
sea coast, or on the Chesapeake bay, and at the Alle- 
ghaney, has not been ascertained ; but contemporary 
observations, made at Williamsburgh, or in its neigh- 
bourhood, and at Monticello, which is on the most 
eastern ridge of the mountains, called the South west, 
where they are intersected by the Rivanna, have fur- 
nished a ratio by which that difference may in some 
degree be conjectured. These observations make the 
difference between Williamsburgh and the nearest 
mountains, at the position before mentioned, to be on an 
average 6°L-8 of Farenheit's thermometer. Some al- 
lowance, how T ever, is to be made for the difference of 
latitude between these two places, the latter being 
38° 8' 17'\ which is 52' 22" north of the former. By 
contemporary observations of between five and six 
weeks, the averaged and almost unvaried difference of 
the heighth of mercury in the barometer, at those two 
places, was .784 of an inch, the atmosphere at Monti- 
cello being so much the lightest, that is to say, about 
one thirty-seventh of its whole weight. It should be 
observed, however, that the hill of Monticello is of 500 
feet perpendicular heighth above the river which 
washes its base. This position being nearly central 
between our northern and southern boundaries, and 
between the bay and Alleghaney, may be considered as 
furnishing the best average of the temperature of our 
climate. Williamsburg is much too near the south 
eastern corner to give a fair idea of our general tern- 
perature, 



81 



But a more remarkable difference is in the winds 
which prevail in the different parts of the country. 
The following tabie exhibits a comparative view of the 
winds prevailing at Williamsburgh, and at Monticello. 
It is formed by reducing nine months observations at 
Monticello to four principal points, to wit, the north- 
east, south-east, south-west, and north-west ; these 
points being perpendicular to, or parallel with our 
coast, mountains, and rivers: and by reducing in like 
manner, an equal number of observations, to wit, 421 
from the preceding table of winds at Williamsburgh, 
taking them proportionably from every point. 





N. E. 


S. E. 


S. W. 


N. VV. 


Total. 


Williamsburgh. 


12? 


61 


132 


101 


421 


Monticello. 


32 


91 


126 


172 


421 



By this it may b<* seen that the south-w T est wind pre- 
vails equally at both places; that the north-east is, 
next to this, the principal wind towards the sea-coast, 
and the north-west is the predominant wind at the 
mountains. The difference between these two winds 
to sensation, and in fact, is very great. The north-east 
is loaded with vapour, insomuch, that the salt makers 
have found that their crystals would not shoot while 
that blows; it brings a distressing chill, and is heavy 
and oppressive to the spirits: the north-west is dry, 
cooling, elastic and animating. The eastern and south- 
eastern breezes come on generally in the afternoon. 
They have advanced into the country very sensibly 
within the memory of people now living. They for- 
merly did not penetrate far above Williamsburgh. 
They are- now frequent at Richmond, and every now 
and then reach the mountains. They deposit most of 
their moisture however before they get that far. As 
the lands become more cleared, it is probable they will 
extend still further westward. 



82 



Going out into the open air, in the temperate, and 
warm months of the year, we often meet with bodies 
of warm air, which passing by us in two or three se- 
conds, do not afford time to the most sensible ther- 
mometer to seize their temperature. Judging from my 
feelings only, I think they approach the ordinary heat 
of the human body. Some of them perhaps go a little 
beyond it. They are of about 20 or 30 feet diameter 
horizontally. Of their height!) we have no experience, 
but probably they are globular volumes wafted or rolled 
along with the wind. But whence taken, where found, 
or how generated ? They are not to be ascribed to vol- 
canoes, because we have none. They do not happen in 
the winter when the farmers kindle large fires in clear- 
ing up their grounds. They are not confined to the 
spring season, when we have fires which traverse whole 
counties, consuming the leaves which have fallen from 
the trees. And they are too frequent and general to be 
ascribed to accidental fires. I am persuaded their 
cause must be sought for in the atmosphere itself to 
aid us in which I know but of these constant circum- 
stances ; a dry air ; a temperature as warm at least as 
that of the spring or autumn ; and a moderate current 
of wind. They are most frequent about sun set ; rare 
in the middle parts of the day ; and I do not recollect 
having ever met with them in the morning. 

The variation in the weight of our atmosphere, as in- 
dicated by the barometer, is not equal to two inches of 
mercury. During twelve months observation at Wil- 
liamsburgh, the extremes were 29, and 30.86 inches, 
the difference being 1.86 of an inch : and in nine 
months, during which the heighth of the mercury was 
noted at Monticello, the extremes were 28.48 and 29.69 
inches, the variation being 1.21 of an inch. A gentle- 
man, who has observed his barometer many years, as- 
sures me it has never varied two inches. Contempora- 
ry observations, made at Monticello and Williamsburgh, 
proved the variations in the weight of air to be simul- 
taneous and corresponding in these two places. 

Our changes from heat to cold, and cold to heat, ar§ 



83 



very sudden and great. The mercury in Farenheit*s 
thermometer has been known to descend from 92° to 
47° in thirteen hours. 

It is taken for granted, that the preceding table of 
average heat will not give a false idea on this subject, 
as it proposes to state only the ordinary heat and cold 
of each month, and not those which are extraordinary. 
At Williamsburgh in August 1766, the mercury in 
Farenheit's thermometer was at 98° corresponding with 
29J of Reaumur. At the same place in January 1780, 
it was 6° corresponding with 114 below 0, of Reaumur. 
I believe* these may be considered to be nearly the 
extremes of heat and cold in that part of the country. 
The latter may most certainly, as at that time, York 
river, at York town, was frozen over, so that people 
walked across it; a circumstance which proves it to 
have been colder than the winter of 1740, 1741, usually 
called the cold winter, when York river did not freeze 
over at that place. In the same season of 1780, Chesa- 
peake bay was solid, from its head to the mouth of 
Patowmac. At Annapolis, where it is 5J miles over 
between the nearest points of land, the ice was from 5 
to 7 inches thick quite across, so that loaded carriages 
went over on it. Those, our extremes of heat and cold, 
of 6° and 98° were indeed very distressing to us, and 
were thought to put the extent of the human constitu- 
tion to considerable trial. Yet a Siberian would have 
considered them as scarcely a sensible variation. At 
Jenniseitz in that country, in latitude 58° 27' we are 
told, that the cold in 1735 sunk the mercury by Faren- 
heit's scale to 126° below nothing; and the inhabitants 
of the same country use stove rooms two or three times 
a week, in which they stay two hours at a time, the 
atmosphere of which raises the mercury to 135° above 
nothing. Late experiments show that the human body 

* At Pari?, in 1753, the mercury in Reaumur's thermometer 
was at 30 1-2 above 0, and in 1776, it was at 16 below 0. The 
extremities of heat and cold therefore at Paris, are greater than 
at Williamsburgh, which is in the hottest part of Virginia. 



84 



will exist in rooms heated to 140° of Reaumur, equal 
to 347° of Farenheit's, and 135° above boiling water. 
The hottest point of the 24 hours is about four o'clock, 
P. M. and the dawn of day the coldest. 

The access of frost in autumn, and its recess the 
spring, do not seem to depend merely on the degree 
of cold ; much less on the air's being at the freezing 
point. White frosts are frequent when the thermo- 
meter is at 47°, have killed young plants of Indian corn 
at 48°, and have been known at 54°. Black frost, and 
even ice, have been produced at 38 J°, which is 6J de- 
grees above the freezing point. That other circum- 
stances must be combined with the cold to produce 
frost, is evident from this also, on the higher parts of 
mountains, where it is absolutely colder than in the 
plains on which they stand, frosts do not appear so 
early by a considerable space of time in autumn, and 
go off sooner in the spring, than in the plains. I have 
known frosts so severe as to kill the hiccory trees round 
about Monticello, and yet not injure the tender fruit 
blossoms then in bloom on the top and higher parts of 
the mountain; and in the course of 40 years, during 
which it had been settled, there have been but two in- 
stances of a general loss of fruit on it : while, in the 
circumjacent country, the fruit has escaped but twice 
in the last seven years. The plants of tobacco, which 
grow from the roots of those which have been cut off 
in the summer, are frequently green here at Christmas. 
This privilege against the frost is undoubtedly combin- 
ed with the want of dew on the mountains. That the 
dew is very rare on their higher parts, I may say with 
certainty, from 12 years observations, having scarcely 
ever, during that time, seen an unequivocal proof of its 
existence on them at all during summer. Severe frosts 
in the depth of winter prove that the region of dews 
extends higher in that season than the tops of the 
mountains: but certainly, in the summer season, the 
vapours, by the time they attain that heighth, are be- 
come so attenuated as not to subside, and form a dew- 
when the sun retires. 



85 



The weavil has not yet ascended the high moun- 
tains. 

A more satisfactory estimate of our climate to some, 
may perhaps he formed, by noting the plants which 
grow here, subject however to be killed by our sever- 
est colds. These are the fig, pomegranate, artichoke, 
and European walnut. In mild winters, lettuce and 
endive require no shelter; but generally they need a 
slight covering. I do not know that the want of long 
moss, reed, myrtle, swamp laurel, holly and cypress, in 
the upper country, proceeds from a greater degree of 
cold, nor that they w r ere ever killed with any degree of 
cold in the lower country. The aloe lived in Williams- 
burgh, in the open air, through the severe winter of 
1779, 1780. 

A change in our climate, however, is taking place 
very sensibly. Both heats and colds are become much 
more moderate, within the memory even of the middle 
aged. Snows are less frequent and less deep. They 
do not often lie, below the mountains, more than one, 
two, or three days, and very rarely a week. They are 
remembered to have been formerly frequent, deep, and 
of long continuance. The elderly inform me, the earth 
used to be covered with snow about three months in 
every year. The rivers, which then seldom failed to 
freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do 
so now. 

This change has produced an unfortunate fluctuation 
between heat and cold, in the spring of the year, which 
is very fatal to fruits. From the year 1741 to 1769, an 
interval of twenty-eight years, there was no instance of 
fruit killed by the frost in the neighbourhood of Monti- 
cello. An intense cold produced by constant snows, 
kept the buds locked up till the sun could obtain, in the 
spring of the year, so fixed an ascendancy as to dissolve 
those snows, and protect the buds, during their devel- 
opement, from every danger of returning cold. The 
accumulated snows of the winter remaining to be dis- 
solved altogether in the spring, produced those over- 



86 



Sowings of our rivers, so frequent then, and so rare 
now. 

Having had occasion to mention the particular situa- 
tion of Monticello for other purposes, I will just take 
notice that its elevation affords an opportunity of seeing 
a phenomenon which is rare at land, though frequent 
at sea. The seamen call it looming. Philosophy is as 
yet in the rear of the seamen, for so far from having 
accounted for it, she has not given it a name. Its prin- 
cipal effect is to make distant objects appear larger, in 
opposition to the general law of vision, by which they 
are diminished. I knew an instance at York town, 
from whence the water prospect eastwardly is without 
termination, wherein a canoe with three men, at a 
great distance was taken for a ship with its three masts. 
I am little acquainted with the phenomenon as it shows 
itself at sea ; but at Monticello it is familiar. There is 
a solitary mountain about forty miles off in the South, 
whose natural shape, as presented to view there, is a 
regular cone ; but by the effeet of looming, it sometimes 
subsides almost totally in the horizon ; sometimes it 
rises more acute and more elevated ; sometimes it is 
hemispherical ; and sometimes its sides are perpendicu- 
lar, its top flat, and as broad as its base. In short it 
assumes at times the most whimsical shapes, and all 
these perhaps successively in the same morning. The 
blue ridge of mountains comes into view, in the north- 
east at about 100 miles distance, and approaching in a 
direct line, passes by within 20 miles, and goes off to 
the south-west. This phenomenon begins to show it- 
self on these mountains, at about 50 miles distance, and 
continues beyond that as far as they are seen. I re- 
mark no particular state, either in the weight, mois- 
ture, or heat of the atmosphere, necessary to produce 
this. The only constant circumstances are its appear- 
ance in the morning only, and on objects at least 40 or 
50 miles distant. In this latter circumstance, if not in 
both, it. differs from the looming on the water. Refrac- 
tion will not account for the metamorphosis. That on- 
ly changes the proportions of length and breadth, base 



87 



and altitude, preserving the general outlines. Thus it 
may make a circle appear elliptical, raise or depress a 
cone, but by none of its laws, as yet developed, will it 
make a circle appear a square, or a cone a sphere. 



QUERY VIII. 

The number of its inhabitants ? 

The following table shows the number of persons 
imported for the establishment of our colony in its in- 
fant state, and the census of inhabitants at different pe- 
riods, extracted from our historians and public re- 
cords, as particularly as I have had opportunities and 
leisure to examine them. Successive lines in the same 
year show successive periods of time in that year. I 
have stated the census in two different columns, the 
whole inhabitants having been sometimes numbered, 
and sometimes the tythes only. This term, with us, 
includes the free males above 16 years of age, and 
slaves above that age of both sexes. A further exami- 
nation of our records would render this history of our 
population much more satisfactory and perfect, by fur- 
nishing a greater number of intermediate terms. These, 
however, which are here stated will enable us to calcu- 
late, with a considerable degree of precision, the rate 
at which we have increased. During the infancy of 
the colony, while numbers were small, wars, importa- 
tions, and other accidental circumstances render the 
progression fluctuating and irregular. By the year 
1654, however, it becomes tolerably uniform, importa- 
tions having in a great measure ceased from the disso- 
lution of the company, and the inhabitants become too 
numerous to be sensibly affected by Indian wars. Be- 
ginning at that period, therefore, we find that from 
thence to the year 1772, our tithes had increased from 
7209 to 153,000. The whole term being of 118 years, 
yields a duplication once in every 271 years. The in- 
termediate enumerations taken in 1700, 1748, and 1759, 
furnish proofs of the uniformity of this progression. 



88 



Years. 


Settlers imported. 


Census of Inhabi- 
tants. 


Census of Tythes. 


1607 


100 










40 




120 






1608 




130 




70 






1609 




490 




16 








60 




1610 


150 









200 




1611 


3 ships loads. 






300 






16J2 


80 






1617 




400 




1618 


200 






40 








600 




1619 


1216 






1621 
1622 


1300 








3800 






2500 




1628 




3000 




1632 






2000 


1644 


.- 




4822 


1645 




5000 


1652 


_ 




7000 


1654 






7209 


1700 







22,000 


1748 






82,100 


1759 






105,000 


1772 






153,000 


1782 




567,614 



89 



Should this rate of increase continue, we shall have 
between six and seven millions of inhabitants within 
95 years. If we suppose our country to be bounded, at 
some future day, by the meridian of the mouth of the 
Great Kanhaway, (within which it has been before 
conjectured, are 64,461 square miles) there will then be 
100 inhabitants for every square mile, which is nearly 
the state of population in the British Islands. 

Here I will beg leave to propose a doubt. The pre- 
sent desire of America is to produce rapid population 
by as great importations of foreigners as possible. But 
is this founded in good policy? The advantage pro- 
posed is the multiplication of numbers. Now let us 
suppose (for example only) that, in this state, we could 
double our numbers in one year by the importation of 
foreigners; and this is a greater accession than the 
most sanguine advocate for emigration has a right to 
expect. Then I say, beginning with a double stock, 
we shall attain any given degree of population only 27 
years, and 3 months sooner than if we proceed on our 
single stock. If we propose four millions and a half as 
a competent population for this state, we should be 54£ 
years attaining it, could we at once double our num- 
bers ; and 811 years, if we rely on natural propagation, 
as may be seen by the following table : 



T781 
18u8i 


Proceeding on 
our present stock. 


Proceeding on 
a double stock. 


567,614 


1,135,228 


1,135,228 


2,270,456 


1835 1 
18621 


2,270,456 


4,540,912 


4,540,912 





In the first column are stated periods of 27j years ; 
in the second are our numbers at each period, as they 
will be if we proceed on our actual stock ; and in the 
third are what they would be, at the same periods, 
were we to set out from the double of our present 
stock. I have taken the terra of four millions and a 
8* 



90 



half of inhabitants for example's sake only. Yet t am 
persuaded it is a greater number than the country spo- 
ken of, considering how much inarable land it contains, 
can clothe and feed, without a material change in the 
quality of their diet. But are there no inconveniences 
to be thrown into the scale against the advantage ex* 
pected from a multiplication of numbers by the impor- 
tation of foreigners? It is for the happiness of those 
united in society to harmonize as much as possible in mat- 
ters which they must of necessity transact together. Civil 
government being the sole object of forming societies, 
its administration must be conducted by common con- 
sent. Every species of government has its specific 
principles. Ours perhaps are more peculiar than those 
of any other in the universe. It is a composition of the 
freest principles of the English constitution, with others 
derived from natural right and natural reason. To 
these nothing can be more opposed than the maxims of 
absolute monarchies. Yet, from such, we are to expect 
the greatest number of emigrants. They will bring 
with them the principles of the governments they 
leave, imbibed in their early youth ; or, if able to throw 
them off, it will be in exchange for an unbounded li- 
centiousness, passing, as is usual, from one extreme to 
another. It would be a miracle were they to stop pre- 
cisely at the poiut of temperate liberty. These princi- 
ples, with their language, they will transmit to their 
children. In proportion to their numbers, they will 
share with us the legislation. They will infuse into it 
their spirit, warp and bias its directions, and render it a 
heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted mass. I may ap- 
peal to experience, during the present contest, for a 
verification of these conjectures. But, if they be not 
certain in event, are they not possible, are they not 
probable ? Is it not safer to wait with patience 27 
years and three months ionger, for the attainment of 
any degree of population desired or expected? May 
not our government be more homogeneous, more peace- 
able, more durable ? Suppose 20 millions of republican 
Americans thrown all of a sudden into France, what 



91 



would be the condition of that kingdom ? If it Would 
be more turbulent, less happy, less strong, we may be^ 
lieve that the addition of half a million of foreigners to 
our present numbers would produce a similar effect 
here. If they come of themselves, they are entitled to 
all the rights of citizenship: but I doubt the expedien- 
cy of inviting them by extraordinary encouragements. 
I mean not that these doubts should he extended to the 
importation of useful artificers. The policy of that 
measure depends on very different considerations* 
Spare no expense in obtaining them. They will after 
a while go to the plough and the hoe ; but, in the mean 
time, they will teach us something we do not know. It 
is not so in agriculture. The indifferent state of that 
among us does not proceed from a want of knowledge 
merely ; it is from our having such quantities of land to 
waste as we please. In Europe the object is to make 
the most of their land, labour being abundant; here it 
is to make the most of our labour, land being abundant* 
It will be proper to explain how the numbers for the 
year 1782 have been obtained; as it was not from a 
perfect census of the inhabitants. It will at the same 
time develope the proportion between the free inhabi- 
tants and slaves. The following return of taxable ar- 
ticles for that year was given in : 

53,289 free males above 21 years of age. 
211,698 slaves of all ages and sexes* 
23,966 not distinguished in the returns, but said to 
be tvtheable slaves. 
195,439 horses/ 
609,734 cattle. 

5,126 wheels of riding-carriages. 
191 taverns. 

There were no returns from the eight counties of 
Lincoln, Jefferson, Fayette, Monongahelia, Yohogania^ 
Ohio, Northampton and York. To find the number of 
slaves which should have been returned instead of the 
23,766 tytheables, we must mention that some observa- 



92 

tions on a former census had given reason to believe 
that the numbers above and below 16 years of age were 
equal. The double of this number, therefore to wit, 
47,532 must be added to 211,698, which will give us 
259,230 slaves of all ages and sexes. To find the num- 
ber of free inhabitants, we must repeat the observation, 
that those above and below 16 are nearly equal. But 
as the number 53,289 omits the males below 16 and 21 
we must supply them from conjecture. On a former 
experiment it had appeared that about one third of our 
militia, that is, of the males between 16 and 50, were 
unmarried. Knowing how early marriage takes place 
here, we shall not be far wrong in supposing that the 
unmarried part of our militia are those between 16 and 
21. If there be young men who do not marry till after 
21, there are many who marry before that age. But as 
the men above 50 were not included in the militia, we 
will suppose the unmarried, or those between 16 and 
21, to be one-fourth of the whole number above 16, 
then we have the following calculation: 

53,289 free males above 21 years of age. 
17,763 free males between 16 and 21. 
71,052 free males under 16. 
142,104 free males of all ages. 



284,208 free inhabitants of all ages. 
259,230 slaves of all ages. 



543,438 inhabitants, exclusive of the eight counties 
from which were no returns. In these eight counties 
in the years 1779 and 1780, were 3,161 militia. Say 
then, 

3,161 free males above the age of 16. 
3,161 ditto under 16. 
6,322 free females. 



12,644 free inhabitants in these eight counties. To 
find the number of slaves, say, as 284,208 to 259,230, so 



93 



is 12,644 to 11,532. Adding the third of these numbers 
to the first, and the fourth to the second, we have, 

296,852 free inhabitants. 

270,762 slaves. 



567,614 inhabitants of every age, sex, and condition. 
But 296,852, the number of free inhabitants, are to 
270,762, the number of slaves, nearly as 11 to 10. Un- 
der the mild treatment our slaves experience, and their 
wholesome, though coarse food, this blot in our coun- 
try increases as fist, or faster, than the whites. Dur- 
ing the regal government, we had at one time obtained 
a law, which imposed such a duty on the importation 
of slaves, as amounted nearly to a prohibition, when 
one inconsiderate assembly, placed under a peculiarity 
of circumstance repealed the law. This repeal met a 
joyful sanction from the then sovereign, and no devi- 
ces, no expedients, which could ever after be attempted 
by subsequent assemblies, and they seldom met with- 
out attempting them, could succeed in getting the royal 
assent to a renewal of the duty. In the very first ses- 
sion held under the republican government, the assem- 
bly passed a law for the perpetual prohibition of the 
importation of slaves. This will in some measure stop 
the increase of this great political and moral evil, while 
the minds of our citizens may be ripening for a com- 
plete emancipation of human nature. 



QUERY IX. 

The number and condition of the militia and regular 
troops, and their pay ? 

The following is a state of the militia, taken from re- 
turns of 1780 and 1781, except in those counties mark- 
ed with an asterisk, the returns from which are some- 
what older. 

Every able bodied freeman, between the ages of 16 
and 50 is enrolled in the militia. Those of every coun- 



94 



ty are formed into companies, and these again into one 
or more battalions, according to the numbers in the 
county. They are commanded by colonels, and other 
subordinate officers, as in the regular service. In every 
county is a county lieutenant, who commands the whole 
militia of his county, but ranks only as a colonel in the 
field. We have no general officers always existing. 
These are appointed occasionally, when an invasion or 
insurrection happens, and their commission determines 
with the occasion. The governor is head of the mili- 
tary, as well as civil. The law requires every militia- 
man to provide himself with the arms usual in the 
regular service. But this injunction was always indif- 
ferently complied with, and the arms they had, have 
been so frequently called for to arm the regulars, that 
in the lower parts of the country they are entirely dis- 
armed. In the middle country a fourth or fifth part of 
them may have such firelocks as they had provided to 
destroy the noxious animals which infest their farms ; 
and on the western side of the Blue ridge they are 
generally armed with rifles. The pay of our militia, 
as well as of our regulars, is that of the continental 
regulars. The condition of our regulars, of whom we 
have none but continentals, and part of a battalion of 
state troops, is so constantly on the change, that a state 
of it at this day would not be its state a month hence. 
It is much the same with the condition of the other 
continental troops, which is well enough known. 



QUERY X. 

The marine ? 

Before the present invasion of this state by the Brit- 
ish under the command of General Phillips, we had 
three vessels of 16 guns, one of 14, five small gallies, 
and two or three armed boats. They were generally 
so badly manned as seldom to be in a condition for ser- 
vice. Since the perfect possession of our rivers as- 



95 



Situa- 
tion. 



C CC S 

- = Hi 

4) CC y 



05 



Counties. 



Lincoln 
Jefferson 
Fayette 
Ohio 

Monongalia 
Washington 
Montgomery 
Greenbriar 

Hampshire 

Berkeley 

Frederick 

Shenando 

Rockingham 

Augusta 

Rockbridge 

Botetourt 



Loudon 

Faquier 

Culpepper 

Spotsylvania 

Orange 

Louisa 

Goochland 

Fluvanna 

Albemarle 

Amherst 

Buckingham 

Bedford 

Henry 

Pittsylvania 

Halifax 

Charlotte 

Prince Edward 

Cumberland 

Powhatan 

Amelia 

Lunenburg 

Mecklenburg 

Brunswick 



Militia. 

600 
300 
156 

*1000 
* 829 
1071 
502 

930 
*1100 
1143 

925 
875 
1375 
*625 
*7Q0 

1746 
1078 

1513; 

480 
#600' 
603| 
*550 
296 
*873 
896 
*625 
1300 
1 004 
*725! 
*1139l 
612 
58P1 
408 
330 
*U25 
677 
1 on 
55S 



Situation. 



o 

' ~ CD 



O CC CD 



Counties. 

Greensville 

Dinwiddie 

Chesterfield 

Prince George 

•Surrey 

Sussex 

Southampton 
Isle of White 
Nansemond 
Norfolk 
Princess Anne 



Henrico 
Hanover 
New Kent 
Charles City 
James City 
Williamsburgh 
York 
Warwick 
Elizabeth City 

^aroline 
King William 
King and Queen 
Bssex 
Middlesex 
Gloucester 



Fairfax 

Prince William 

Stafford 

King George 

Richmond 

Westmoreland 

Northumberland 

Lancaster 



Accomac 
Southampton 



Militia. 

500 
*750 
665 
328 
*380 
700 
874 
*600 
#t;44 
830 
*594 

619 
706 
*418 
286 
235 
129 
*244 
*100 
182 

805 
436 
500 
468 
*210 
850 

652 
614 
*500 
483 
412 
544 

6:i0 

332 

*1208 
*430 



Whole Militia of the State. 



| 49971 



96 



sumed by the enemy, I believe we are left with a sin- 
gle armed boat only. 



QUERY XL 

A description of the Indians established in that state ? 

When ihe first effectual settlement of our colony was 
made, which was in 1607, the country from the sea- 
coast to the mountains, and from Patowmac to the 
most southern waters of James river, was occupied by 
upwards of forty different tribes of Indians. Of these 
the Poivhatans the Mannahoacs, and Monacans, were 
the most powerful. Those between the sea-coast and 
falls of the rivers, were in amity with one another, and 
attached to the Poivhatans as their link of union. Those 
between the falls of the rivers and the mountains, were 
divided into two confederacies ; the tribes inhabiting 
the head waters of Patowmac and Rappahanock be- 
ing attached to the Mannahoacs ; and those on the up- 
per parts of James river to the Monacans, But the 
Monacans and their friends were in amity with the 
Mannahoacs and their friends, and waged joint and 
perpetual war against the Poivhatans. We are told 
that the Powhatans, Mannahoacs, and Monacans^ spoke 
languages so radically different, that interpreters were 
necessary when they transacted business. Hence we 
may conjecture, that this was not the case between all 
the tribes, and probably that each spoke the language 
of the nation to which it was attached ; which we 
kno v to have been the case in many particular instan- 
ces. Very possibly there may have been anciently 
three different stocks, each of which multiplying in a 
long course of time, had separated into so many little 
societies. This practice results from the circumstance 
of their having never submitted themselves to any 
laws, any coercive power, any shadow of government. 
Their only controls are their manners, and that moral 
sense of right and wrong, which, like the sense of tast- 



97 



Ing and feeling, in every man makes a part of his na- 
ture. An offence against these is punished by con- 
tempt, by exclusion from society, or, where the case is 
serious, as that of murder, by the individuals whom it 
concerns. Imperfect as this species of coercion may 
seem, crimes are very rare among them ; insomuch 
that were it made a question, whether no law, as among 
the savage Americans, or too much law, as among the 
civilized Europeans, submits man to the greatest evil ; 
one who has seen both conditions of existence would 
pronounce it to be the last : and that the sheep are hap- 
pier of themselves, than under the care of the wolves. 
It will be said, that great societies cannot exist without 
government. The savages therefore break them into 
small ones. 

The territories of the Powhatan confederacy, south 
of the Patowmac, comprehended about 8000 square 
miles, 30 tribes, and 2400 warriors. Capt. Smith tells 
us, that within 60 miles of James Town were 5000 
people, of whom 1500 were warriors. From this we 
find the proportion of their warriors to their whole in- 
habitants, was as 3 to 10. The Powhatan confederacy 
then would consist of about 8000 inhabitants, which 
was one for every square mile; being about the twen- 
tieth part of our present population in the same terri- 
tory, and the hundredth of that of the British islands. 

Besides these, were the Nottoways, living on Notto- 
way river, the Meherrins and Tuteloes on Meherrin 
river, who were connected with the Indians of Caroli- 
na, probably with the Chowanocs. 

The preceding table contains a state of these several 
tribes, according to their confederacies and geographi- 
cal situation, with their numbers when we first became 
acquainted with them where these numbers are known. 
The numbers of some of them are again stated as they 
were in the year 1669, when an attempt was made by 
the assembly to enumerate them. Probably the enu- 
meration is imperfect, and in some measure conjectural, 
and that a further search into the records would fur- 
nish many more particulars. What would be the me- 

9 



98 



lancholy sequel of their history, may however be argued 
from the census of 1669 ; by which we discover that the 
tribes therein enumerated were, in the space of 62 
years, reduced to about one third of their former num- 
bers. Spirituous liquors, the small pox, war and an 
abridgment of territory, to a people who lived princi- 
pally on the spontaneous productions of nature, had 
committed terrible havock among them, which genera- 
tion, under the obstacles opposed to it among them, 
was not likely to make good. That the lands of this 
country were taken from them by conquest, is not so 
general a truth as is supposed. 1 find in our historians 
and records, repeated proofs of purchase, which cover 
a considerable part of the lower country ; and many 
more would doubtless be found on further search. 
The upper country we know has been acquired alto- 
gether by purchases made in the most unexceptionable 
form. 

Westward of all these tribes, beyond the mountains, 
and extending to the great lakes, were the Massawo- 
mees, a most powerful confederacy, who harassed un- 
remittingly the Poivhatans and Manahoacs. These were 
probably the ancestors of tribes known at present by 
the name of the Six Nations. 

Very little can now be discovered of the subsequent 
history of these tribes severally. The Chickdhominies 
removed about the year 1661, to Mattapony river. 
Their chief, with one from each of the Pamunkies and 
Mattaponies, attended the treaty of Albany in 1685. 
This seems to have been the last chapter in their his- 
tory. They retained however their separate names so 
late as 1705, and were at length blended with the Pa- 
munkies and Mattaponies, and exist at present only 
under their names. There remain of the Mattaponies 
three or four men only, and have more negro than In- 
dian blood in them. They have lost their language, 
have reduced themselves, by voluntary sales, to about 
fifty acres of land, which lie on the river of their own 
name, and have from time to time, been joining the Pa- 
munkies, from whom they are distant but 10 miles. 



99 



The Pamunkies are reduced to about 10 or 12 men, to- 
lerably pure from mixture with other colours. The 
older ones among them preserve their language in a 
small degree, which are the last vestiges on earth, as 
far as we know, of the Powhatan language. They 
have about 300 acres of very fertile land, on Pamunkey 
river, so encompassed by water that a gate shuts in the 
whole. Of the Nottoways, not a male is left. A few 
women constitute the remains of that tribe. They are 
seated on Nottoway river, in Southampton county, on 
very fertile lands. At a very early period, certain lands 
were marked out and appropriated to these tribes, and 
were kept from encroachment by the authority of the 
laws. They have usually had trustees appointed, whose 
duty was to watch over their interests, and guard them 
from insult and injury. 

The Monacans and their friends, better known latterly 
by the name of the Tuscaroras } were probably connected 
with the Massavvomecs, or Five Nations. For though 
we are* told their languages were so different that the 
intervention of interpreters was necessary between 
them, yet do we alsof learn that the Erigas, a nation 
formerly inhabiting on the Ohio, were of the same ori- 
ginal stock with the Five Nations, and that they par 
took also of the Tuscarora language. Their dialects 
might, by long separation have become so unlike as to 
be unintelligible to one another. We know that in 
1712, the Five Nations received the Tuscaroras into 
their confederacy, and made them the Sixth Nation 
They received the Meherrins and Tuteloes also into 
their protection : and it is most probable, that the re 
mains of many other of the tribes, of whom we find no 
particular account, retired westwardly in like manner, 
and were incorporated with one or other of the western 
tribes. (5) 

I know of no such thing existing as an Indian monu- 
ment : for 1 would not honour with that name arrow 
points, stone hatchets, stone pipes, and half shapen 



* Smith. 



t Evans. 



100 



images. Of labour on the large scale, I think there is 
no remain as respectable as would be a common ditch 
for the draining of lands : unless indeed it would be the 
barrows, of which many are to be found all over this 
country. These are of different sizes, some of them 
constructed of earth, and some of loose stones. That 
they were repositories of the dead, has been obvious to 
all s but on what particular occasion constructed, was 
a matter of doubt. Some have thought they covered 
the bones of those who have fallen in battles fought on 
the spot of interment. Some ascribed them to the cus- 
tom, said to prevail among the Indians, of collecting, at 
certain periods the bones of all their dead, wheresoever 
deposited at the time of death. Others again supposed 
them the general sepulchres for towns, conjectured to 
have been on or near these grounds ; and this opinion 
was supported by the quality of the lands in which they 
are found, (those constructed of earth being generally 
in the softest and most fertile meadow grounds on river 
sides) and by a tradition, said to be handed down from 
the aboriginal Indians, that, when they settled in a 
town, the first person who died was placed erect, and 
earth put about him, so as to cover and support him; 
that when another died, a narrow passage was dug to 
the first, the second reclined against him, and the cover 
of earth replaced, and so on. I There being one of these 
in my neighbourhood, I wished to satisfy myself whe- 
ther any, and which of these opinions were just. For 
this purpose I determined to open and examine it tho- 
roughly* It was situated on the low grounds of the 
Rivanna, about two miles above its principal fork, and 
opposite to some hills, on which had been an Indian 
town. It was of a spheroidical form, of about 40 feet 
diameter M the base, and had been of about twelve feet 
altitude, though now reduced by the plough to seven 
and a half, having been under cultivation about a dozen 
years. Before this it was covered with trees of 12 
inches diameter, and round the base was an excavation 
of five feet depth and width, from whence the earth 
had been taken of which the hillock was formed* I 



i 



101 



first dug superficially in several parts of it, and eame to 
collections of human bones, at different depths, from 
six inches to three feet .below the surface. These were 
lying in the utmost confusion, some vertical, some ob- 
lique, some horizontal, and directed to every point of 
the compass, entangled, and held together in clusters 
by the earth. Bones of the most distant parts were 
found together, as, for instance, the small bones of the 
foot in the hollow of a scull"; many sculls would some- 
times be in contact, lying on the face, on the side, on 
the back, top or bottom, so as, on the whole, to give the 
idea of bones emptied promiscuously from a bag or 
basket, and covered over with earth, without any atten- 
tion to their order. The bones of which the greatest 
numbers remained, were sculls, jaw bones, teeth, the 
bones of the arms, thighs, legs, feet and hands. A few 
ribs remained, some vertebras of the neck and spine, 
without their processes, and one instance only of the* 
bone which serves as a base to the vertebral column. 
The sculls were so tender, that they generally fell to 
pieces on being touched. The other bones were strong- 
er. There were some teeth which were judged to be 
smaller than those of an adult ; a scull, which on a slight 
view, appeared to be that of an infant, but it fell to pieces 
on being taken out, so as to prevent satisfactory exami- 
nation ; a rib, and a fragment of the under jaw of a per- 
son about half grown; another rib of an infant ; and 
part of the jaw of a child, which had not cut its teeth. 
This last furnishing the most decisive proof of the burial 
of children here, I was particular in my attention to it. 
It was part of the right half of the under jaw. The 
processes, by which it was attenuated to the temporal 
bones, were entire, and the bone itself firm to where it 
had been broken off, which, as nearly as 1 could judge, 
was about the place of the eye-tooth. Its upper edge, 
wherein would have been the sockets of the teeth, was 
perfectly smooth. Measuring it with that of an adult, 
by placing their hinder processes together, its broken 



* The os sacrum. 

9* 



102 



end extended to the penultimate grinder of the adult. 
This bone was white, all the others of a sand colour. 
The bones of infants being soft, they probably decay 
sooner, which might be the cause so few were found 
here. I proceeded then to make a perpendicular cut 
through the body of the barrow, that I might examine 
its internal structure. This passed about three feet 
from its centre, was opened to the former surface of the 
earth, and was wide enough for a man to walk through 
and examine its sides. At the bottom, that is, on the 
level of the circumjacent plain, I found bones; above 
these a few stones, brought from a cliff a quarter of a 
mile off, and from the river one-eighth of a mile off; 
then a large interval of earth, then a stratum of bones, 
and so on. At one end of the section were four strata 
of bones plainly distinguishable; at the other, three; 
the strata in one part not ranging with those in another. 
The bones nearest the surface were least decayed. No 
holes were discovered in any of them, as if made with 
bullets, arrows, or other weapons. I conjectured that 
in this barrow might have been a thousand skeletons.-— 
Every one will readily seize the circumstances above 
related, which militate against the opinion, that it cover- 
ed the bones only of persons fallen in battle : and 
against the tradition also, which would make it the 
eommon sepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were 
placed upright, and touching each other. Appearances 
certainly indicate that it has derived both origin and 
growth from the accustomary collection of bones, and 
deposition of them together ; that the first collection 
had been deposited on the common surface of the earth, 
a few stones put over it, and then a covering of earth, 
that the second had been laid on this, had covered more 
or less of it in proportion to the number of bones, and 
Was then also covered with earth ; and so on. The fol- 
lowing are the particular circumstances which give it 
this aspect. 1. The number of bones. 2. Their con- 
fused position. 3. Their being in different strata. 4. 
The strata in one part having no correspondence with 
Ihose in another. 5. The different states of decay m 



103 



these strata, which seem to indicate a difference in the 
time of inhumation. 6. The existence of infant bones 
among them. 

But on whatever occasion they may have been made, 
they are of considerable notoriety among the Indians i 
for a party passing, about thirty years ago, through the 
part of the country where this barrow is, went through 
the woods directly to it, without any instructions oren- 
quiry, and having staid about it some time, with expres- 
sions which were construed to be those of sorrow, they 
returned to the high road, which they had left about 
half a dozen miles to pay this visit, and pursued their 
journey. There is another barrow much resembling 
this, in the low grounds of the south branch of Shenan-^ 
doah where it is crossed by the road leading from the 
Rockfish gap to Staunton. Both of these have within 
these dozen years, been cleared of their trees, and put 
under cultivation, are much reduced in their heighth, 
and spread in width, by the plough, and will probably 
disappear in time. There is another on a hill in the 
Blue ridge of mountains, a few miles north of Wood's 
gap, which is made up of small stones thrown together* 
This has been opened and found to contain human 
bones, as the others do. There are also many others 
in other parts of the country. 

Great question has arisen from whence came those 
aboriginals of America ? Discoveries, long ago made, 
were sufficient to show that the passage from Europe 
to America was always practicable, even to the imper* 
feet navigation of ancient times. In going from Nor- 
way to Iceland, from Iceland to GroenJand, from Groen- 
land to Labrador, the first traject is the widest : and 
this having been practised from the earliest times of 
which we have any account of that part of the earth, it 
is not difficult to suppose that the subsequent trajects 
may have been sometimes passed. Again, the late dis- 
coveries of Captain Cook, coasting from Kamschatka 
to California, have proved that if the two continents of 
Asia and America be separated at all, it is only by a 
narrow strait. So that from this side also, inhabitants* 



104 



may have passed into America : and the resemblance 
between the Indians of America and the eastern inhabi- 
tants of Asia, would induce us to conjecture, that the 
former are the descendants of the latter, or the latter of 
the former : excepting indeed the Eskimaux, who, from 
the same circumstances of resemblance, and from iden- 
tity of language, must be derived from the Greenland- 
ers, and these probably from some of the northern parts 
of the old continent. A knowledge of their several 
languages would be the most certain evidence of their 
derivation which could be produced. In fact, it is the 
best proof of the affinity of nations which ever can be 
referred to. How many ages have elapsed since the 
English, the Dutch, the Germans, the Swiss, the Nor- 
wegians, Danes and Swedes have separated from their 
common stock ? Yet how many more must elapse be- 
fore the proofs of their common origin, which exist in 
their several languages, will disappear ? It is to be la- 
mented then, very much to be lamented, that we have 
suffered so many of the Indian tribes already to extin- 
guish, without our having previously collected and de- 
posited in the records of literature, the general rudi- 
ments at least of the languages they spoke. Were vo- 
cabularies formed of all the languages spoken in North 
and South America, preserving their appellations of the 
most common objects in nature, of those which must 
be present to every nation barbarous or civilized, with 
the inflections of their nouns and verbs, their principles 
of regimen and concord, and these deposited in all the 
public libraries, it would furnish opportunities to those 
skilled in the languages of the old world to compare 
them with these, now, or at any future time, and hence 
to construct the best evidence of the derivation of this 
part of the human race. 

But imperfect as is our knowledge of the tongues 
spoken in America, it suffices to discover the follow- 
ing remarkable fact. Arranging them under the radi- 
cal ones to which they may be palpably traced, and 
doing the same by those of the red men of Asia, there 
will be found probably twenty in America, for one in 



105 



Asia, of those radical languages, so called because, if 
they were ever the same they have lost all resemblance 
to one another. A separation into dialects may be the 
work of a few ages only, but for two dialects to recede 
from one another till they have lost all vestiges of their 
! common origin, must require an immense course of 
j time ; perhaps not less than many people give to the 
I age of the earth. A greater number of those radical 
changes of language having taken place among the red 
men of America, proves them of greater antiquity than 
j those of Asia. 

I will now proceed to state the nations and numbers 
' of the Aborigines which still exist in a respectable and 
I independent form. And as their undefined boundaries 
would render it difficult to specify those only which 
may be within any certain limits, and it may not be un- 
acceptable to present a more general view of them, I 
will reduce within the form of a catalogue all those 
within, and circumjacent to, the United States, whose 
names and numbers have come to my notice. These 
are taken from four different lists, the first of which 
was given in the year 1759 to General Stanwix by 
George Croghan, deputy agent for Indian affairs under 
Sir William Johnson ; the second was drawn up by a 
French trader of considerable note, resident among the 
Indians many years, and annexed to Colonel Bouquet's 
printed account of his expedition in 1764. The third 
was made out by Captain Hutchins, who visited most of 
the tribes, by order, for the purpose of learning their 
numbers in 1768. And the fourth by John Dodge, an 
Indian trader, in 1779, except the numbers marked^ 
which are from other information. 



106 



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The following tribes are also mentioned: 



•A r 



Lezar, 

Webings, 
Ousasoys 
Grand Tuc 
^ Lin ways, 



400 
200 
■ 4000 
1000 



( From the mouth of Ohio to the mouth 
( of Wabash. 

On the Mississippi below the Shakies. 
i On White Creek, a branch of the Mis- 
> sissippi. 

On the Mississippi. 



Les Puans^ 700 Near Puans Bay. 
jn f Folle Avoine 350 Near Puans Bay, 
o [ Ouanakina, 300 \ 

cr<( Chickanessou, 350 f Conjectured to be tribes of the 
c | Machecous, 800 £ Creeks. 
M ^Soulikilas, 200 ) 



2000 



800 



North-West of L. Michigan, to the 
heads of Mississippi, and up to L. 
' Superior. 

\On and near the Wabash toward the 
j Illinois. 



& j Mine amis, 

J 

'c j Piankishas, 
Q I Mascoutins, 
(_Vermillions, 

But apprehening these might be different appellations 
for some of the tribes already enumerated, I have not 
inserted them in the table, but state them separately as 
worthy of further enquiry. The variations observable 
in numbering the same tribe may sometimes be ascribed 
to imperfect information, and sometimes to a greater 
or less comprehension of settlements under the same 
name. (7.) 



QUERY XII. 

A notice of the counties, cities, townships, and vil- 
lages ? 

The counties have been enumerated under Query 
IX. They are 74 in number, of very unequal size 
and population. Of these 35 are on the tide waters, 



Ill 



or In that parallel ; 23 are in the midlands, between 
the tide waters and Blue ridge of mountains ; 8 be- 
tween the Blue ridge and Alleghaney ; and 8 westward 
of the Alleghaney. 

The state by another division, is formed into parish- 
es, many of which are commensurate with the coun- 
ties: but sometimes a county comprehends more than 
one parish, and sometimes a parish more than one 
county. This division had relation to the religion of 
the state, a parson of the Anglican church, with a fixed 
salary, having been heretofore established in each par- 
ish. The care of the poor was another object of the 
parochial division. 

We have no townships. Our country being much 
intersected with navigable waters, and trade brought 
generally to our doors, instead of our being obliged to 
go in quest of it, has probably been one of the causes 
why we have no towns of any consequence. Williams- 
burgh, which till the year 1780, was the seat of our 
government, never contained above 1800 inhabitants ; 
and Norfolk the most populous town we ever had, con- 
tained but 6000. Our towns, but more properly our 
villages or hamlets, are as follows : 

On James river and its waters, Norfolk, Portsmouth, 
Hampton, Suffolk, Smithfield, Williamsburgh, Peters- 
burgh, Richmond, the seat of our government, Man- 
chester, Charlottesville, New London. 

On York river and its waters, York, Newcastle, Han- 
over. 

On Rappahannock, Urbanna, Port royal, Fredericks- 
burgh, Falmouth. 

On Patowmac and its waters, Dumfries, Colchester, 
Alexandria, Winchester, and Staunton. 

On Ohio, Louisville. 

There are other places at which, like some of the 
foregoing, the laws have said there shall be towns ; but 
Nature has said there shall not, and they remain un- 
worthy of enumeration. Norfolk will probably be the 
emporium for all the trade of the Chesapeak bay and 
its waters; and a canal of 8 or 10 miles will bring to 



112 



it all that of Albermarle sound and its waters. Secon- 
dary to this place, are the towns at the head of the tide 
waters, to wit, Petersburg on Appomattox. Rich- 
mond on James river. Newcastle on York riter. Alex- 
andria on Patowmac, and Baltimore on Patapsco. From 
these the distribution will be to subordinate situations 
in the country. Accidental circumstances however 
may control the indications of nature, and in no in- 
stances do they do it more frequently than in the rise 
and fall of towns. 



QUERY XIII. 

The constitution of the state, and its several char- 
ters ? 

Queen Elizabeth by her letters patent, bearing date 
March 25, 1584. licensed Sir Walter Raleigh to search 
for remote heathen lands, not inhabited by Christian 
people, and granted to him, in fee simple, all the soil 
within 200 leagues of the places where his people 
should, within six years make their dwellings or ahid- 
ings ; reserving only to herself and her successors, their 
allegiance and one fifth part of all the gold and silver 
ore they should obtain. Sir Walter immediately sent 
out two ships which visited Wococon island in North 
Carolina, and the next year despatched seven with 107 
men who settled in Roanoak island, about latitude 35° 
50'. Here Okiskoo, king of the Weopomeiocs, in a full 
council of his people is said to have acknowledged 
himself the homager of the Queen of England, and af- 
ter her, of Sir Walter Raleigh. A supply of 50 .men 
were sent in 1586, and 150 in 1587. With these last, 
Sir Walter sent a governor, appointed him 12 assistants, 
gave them a charter of incorporation, and instructed 
them to settle on Chesapeak bay. They landed, how- 
ever, at Hatorask. In 1586, when a fleet was ready to 
sail with a new supply of colonists and necessaries, they 
were detained by the Queen to assist against the Span- 



LIS 



ish armada. Sir Walter having now expended 40,O(X)L 
in these enterprises, obstructed occasionally by the 
crown without a shilling of aid from it, was under a 
necessity of engaging others to adventure their money. 
He therefore, by deed bearing date the 7th of March, 
1589, by the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, Chief Gover- 
nor of Assamacomoc f probably Acomac,) alias Winga- 
dacoia, alias Virginia, granted to Thomas Smith and 
others, in consideration of their adventuring certain 
sums of money, liberty of trade to his new country, free 
from all customs and taxes for seven years, excepting 
the fifth part of the gold and silver ore to be obtained ; 
and stipulated with them, and the other assistants, then 
in Virginia, that he would confirm the deed of incor- 
poration which he had given in 1587, with all the pre- 
rogatives, jurisdictions, royalties and privileges granted 
to him by the Queen. Sir Walter, at different times, 
•sent five other adventurers hither, the last of which 
was in 1602 : for in 1603 he was attainted, and put into 
close imprisonment, which put an end to his cares over 
his infant colony. What was the particular fate of the 
colonists he had before sent and seated, has never been 
known : whether they were murdered, or incorporated 
with the savages. 

Some gentlemen and merchants, supposing that by 
the attainder of Sir Walter Raleigh the grant to him 
was forfeited, not enquiring over carefully whether the 
sentence of an English court could affect lands not 
within the jurisdiction of that court, petitioned king 
James for a new grant of Virginia to them. He accord- 
ingly executed a grant to Sir Thomas Gates and others 
bearing date the 9th of March 1607, under which, in 
the same year a settlement was effected at Jamestown 
and ever after maintained. Of this grant however, no 
particular notice need be taken, as it was superseded by 
letters patent of the same king, of May 23, 1609, to the 
Earl of Salisbury and others, incorporating them by the 
name of " the Treasurer and Company of adventurers 
and planters of the city of London for the first colony 
in Virginia," granting to them and their successors all 



114 



the lands in Virginia from Point Comfort along the sea 
coast to the northward 200 miles, and from the same 
point along the sea coast to the southward 200 miles, 
and all the space from this precinct on the sea coast up 
into the land, west and north-west, from sea to sea, and 
the islands within one hundred miles of it, with all the 
communities, jurisdictions, royalties, privileges, fran- 
chises and preeminences within the same, and thereto 
and thereabouts, by sea and land, appertaining hi as 
ample manner as had before been granted to any ad- 
venturers : to be held to the king and his successors, 
in common soccage, yielding one fifth part of the gold 
and silver ore to be therein found, for all manner of 
services; establishing a counsel in England for the di- 
rection of the enterprise, the members of which were to 
be chosen and displaced by the voice of the majority of 
the company and adventurers, and were to have the 
nomination and revocation of governors, officers and 
ministers, which by them should be thought needful for 
the colony, the power of establishing laws and forms of 
government and magistracy, obligatory not only within 
the colony, but also on the seas in going and coming to 
and from it ; authorising them to canw thither any per- 
sons who should consent to go, freeing them for ever 
from all taxes and impositions on any goods or merchan- 
dise on itn}>o.rtations into the colony, or exportation out 
of it, except the uve per cent, due for custom on all 
goods imported into the British dominions, according to 
the ancient trade of merchants; which five per cent, 
only being paid they might, wkhin 13 months reexport 
the same goods in foreign parts, without any custom, 
tax, or other duty, to the king, or any of his officers, or 
deputies ; with powers of waging war against those 
who should annoy them ; giving to the inhabitants of 
the colony all the rights of natural subjects, as if born 
and abiding in England; and declaring that, these let- 
ters should be construed, in all doubtful parts, in such 
manner as should be most for the benefit of the gran- 
tees. 

Afterwards on the 12th of March 1612, by other let- 



115 



ters patent, the king added to his former grants, all 
islands in any part of the ocean between the 30th and 
41st degrees of latitude, and within 300 leagues of any 
of the parts before granted to the treasurer and compa- 
ny, not being possessed or inhabited by any other 
Christian prince or state, nor within the limits of the 
northern colony. 

In pursuance of the authorities given to the compa- 
ny by these charters, and more especially of that part 
in the charter of 1609, which authorised them to estab- 
lish a form of government, they on the 24th of July 
1621, by charter under their common seal, declared 
that from thenceforward there should be two supreme 
councils in Virginia, the one to be called the council 
of state, to be placed and displaced by the treasurer, 
council in England, and company, from time to time, 
whose office was to be that of assisting and advising 
the governor; the other to be called the general assem- 
bly to be convened by the governor once yearly or 
oftener, which was to consist of the council of state, 
and two burgesses out of every town, hundred or plant- 
ation, to be respectively chosen by the inhabitants. In 
this all matters were to be decided by the greater part 
of the votes present; reserving to the governor a nega- 
tive voice ; and they were to have power to treat, con- 
sult, and conclude all emergent occasions concerning 
the public weal, and to make laws for the behoof and 
government of the colony, imitating and following the 
laws and policy of England as nearly as might be: 
providing that these laws should have no force till rati- 
fied in a general quarter court of the company in Eng- 
land and returned under their common seai, and de- 
claring that, after the government of the colony should 
be well framed and settled, no orders of the council in 
England should bind the colony unless ratified in the 
said general assembly. The king and company quar- 
relled, and by a mixture of law and force, the latter 
were ousted of all their rights., without retribution, af- 
ter having expended 100,00OL in establishing the colony, 
without the smallest aid from government. King 



116 



James suspended their powers by proclamation of July 
15, 1624, and Charles I. took the government into his 
own hands. Both sides had their partisans in the colo- 
ny ; but in truth the people of the colony in general 
thought themselves little concerned in the dispute. 
There being three parties interested in these several 
charters: what passed between the first and second it 
was thought could not affect the third. If the king 
seized on the powers of the company, they only pass- 
ed into other hands, without increase or diminution, 
while the rights of the people remained as they were. 
But they did not remain so long. The northern parts 
of their country were granted away to the lords Balti- 
more and Fairfax; the first of these obtaining also the 
rights of separate jurisdiction and government. And 
in 1650 the parliament, considering itself as standing in 
the place of their deposed king, and as having succeed- 
ed to all his powers, without as well as within the 
realm, began to assume a right over the colonies, pass- 
ing an act for inhibiting their trade with foreign na- 
tions. This succession to the exercise of kingly autho- 
rity gave the first colour for parliamentary interference 
with the colonies, and produced that fatal precedent 
which the} 7 continued to follow after they had retired, 
in other respects, within their proper functions. When 
this colony, therefore, which still maintained its oppo- 
sition to Cromwell and the parliament, was induced in 
1651 to lay down their arms, they previously secured 
their most essential rights, by a solemn convention, 
which having never seen in print, I will here insert lit- 
erally from the records. 

"ARTICLES agreed on and concluded at James 
Cittie in Virginia for the surrendering and settling of 
that plantation under the obedience and government of 
the Comon w r ealth of England by the commissioners 
of the Councill of state by authoritie of the parliamt. of 
England and by the Grand assembly of the Governour, 
Councill and Burgesses of that countrey. 

" First it is agreed and consted that the plantation 
of Virginia, and all the inhabitants thereof shall be and 



117 



remain in due obedience and subjection to the Comon 
wealth of England according to the laws there estab- 
lished, and that this submission and subscription bee 
acknowledged a voluntary act not forced nor constrain- 
ed by a conquest upon the countrey, and that they shall 
have and enjoy such freedoms and privileges as belong 
to the free borne people of England, and that the for- 
mer government by the Commissions and Instructions 
be void and null. 

" 21y. Secondly that the Grand assembly as formerly 
shall convene and transact the affairs of Virginia where- 
in nothing is to be acted or done contrarie to the gov- 
ernment of the Comon wealth of England and the 
lawes there established. 

"31y. That there shall be a full and total! remission 
and indempnitie of all acts, words, or writeings done or 
spoken against the parliament of England in relation to 
the same. 

"41y. That Virginia shall have and enjoy the antient 
bounds and Ly mitts granted by the charters of the for- 
mer kings, and that we shall seek a new charter from, 
the parliament to that purpose against any that have in- 
trencht upon the rights thereof. 

" 51y. That all the patterns of land granted under the 
colony seal by any of the precedent governours shall be 
and remaine in their full force and strength. 

" 61y. That the priviledge of having ffiftie acres of 
land for every person transported in that collonie shall 
continue as formerly granted. 

"71y. That the people of Virginia hav« free trade as 
the people of England do enjoy to all places and with 
all nations according to the lawes of that Comon 
wealth, and that Virginia shall enjoy all priviledges 
equall with any English plantations in America. 

"81y. That Virginia shall be free from all taxes, cus- 
toms and impositions whatsoever, and none to be im- 
posed on them without consent of the Grand assembly; 
And soe that neither ffortes nor castles bee erected or 
garrisons maintained without their consent. 

"91y. That noe charge shall be required from this 
country in respect of this present ifleet. 



118 



" lOly. That for the future settlement of the coun- 
trey in their due obedience, the Engagement shall be 
tendred to all the inhabitants according to act of par- 
liament made to that purpose, that all persons who 
shall refuse to subscribe the said engagement, shall have 
a yeare's time if they please to remove themselves and 
their estates out of Virginia, and in the mean time 
during the said yeare to have equall justice as for- 
merly. 

" Illy. That the use of the booke of common prayer 
shall be permitted for one yeare ensueinge with refer- 
rence to the consent of the major part of the parishes, 
provided that those which relate to kingshipp or that 
government be not used publiquely, and the continu- 
ance of ministers in their places, they not misdemean- 
ing themselves, and the payment of their accustomed 
dues and agreements made with them respectively shall 
be left as they now stand dureing this ensueing yeare. 

" 121y. That no man's cattell shall be questioned as 
the companies unless such as have been entrusted with 
them or have disposed of them without order. 

" 131y.. That all ammunition, powder and armes, other 
than for private use, shall be delivered up,securitie being 
given to make satisfaction for it. 

" 141y. That all goods alreadie brought hither by the 
Dutch or others which are now on shoar shall be free 
from suprizall. 

" 151y. That the quittrents granted unto us by the late 
kinge for seaven years bee confirmed. 

" 161y. That the commissioners for the parliament 
subscribeing these articles engage themselves and the 
honour of parliament for the full performance thereof : 
and that the present governour and the councilland the 
burgesses do likewise subscribe and engage the whole 
colony on their parts. 

Rich. Bennett. Seale. 

Wm. Claiborne. Seale. 

Edmond Curtis. Seale. 

"Theise articles were signed and sealed by the Com- 
missioners of the Councill of state for the Common- 
wealth of England the twelveth day of March 16351." 



119 



Then foliow the articles stipulated by the governor 
and council, which relate merely to their own persons 
and property, and then the ensuing instrument: 

"An act of indempnitie made att the surrender of the 
co un trey. 

" Whereas by the authoritie of the parliament wee 
the commissioners appointed by the council of state 
authorized thereto having brought a fBeete & force be- 
fore James cittie in Virginia to reduce that collonie 
under the obedience of the common wealth of Eng- 
land, & finding force raised by the Governour & coun- 
trey to take opposition against the said flleet whereby 
assured danger appearinge of the ruine & destruction 
of the plantation, for prevention whereof the Burges- 
ses of all the severall plantations being called to ad- 
vise and assist therein, uppon long & serious debate, 
and in sad contemplation of the great miseries & cer- 
tain destruction which were soe neerely hovering over 
the whole countrey ; Wee the said Commissioners have 
thought fitt & condescending & granted to signe & 
confirme under our hands, seales & by our oath, Arti- 
cles bearinge date with theise presents, and do further 
declare that by the authoritie of the parliament & com- 
monwealth of England derived unto us their commis- 
sioners, that according to the articles in general wee 
have granted an act of indempnitie & oblivion to all 
the inhabitants of this coloney from all words, actions, 
or writings that have been spoken acted or writt against 
the parliament or commonwealth of England or any 
other person from the beginning of the world to this 
daye. And this we have done that all the inhabitants 
of the collonie may live quietly and securely under the 
commonwealth of England. And we do promise that 
the parliament and commonwealth of England shall 
confirm & make good all those transactions of ours. 
Wittness our hands & seales this 12th of March 1651. 
Richard Bennett — Seale. Wm, Claiborne — Seale. 
Edm. Curtis, — Seale." 

The colony supposed, that, by this solemn conven- 
tion, entered into with arms in their hands, they had 



120 



secured the ancient limits* of their country, its free 
trade,f its exemption from taxation^ but by their own 
assembly, and exclusion of military force§ from among 
them. Yet in every of these points was this conven- 
tion violated by subsequent kings and parliaments, and 
other infractions of their constitution equally danger- 
ous committed. Their general assembly, which was 
composed of the council of state and burgesses, sitting 
together and deciding by plurality of voices, was split 
into two houses, by which the council obtained a sepa- 
rate negative on their laws. — Appeals from their su- 
preme court, which had been fixed by law in their 
general assembly, were arbitrarily revoked to England, 
to be there heard before the king and council. In- 
stead of four hundred miles on the sea coast, they were 
reduced, in the space of thirty years, to about one hun- 
dred miles. Their trade with foreigners was totally 
suppressed, and when carried to Great Britain, was 
there loaded with imposts. It is unnecessary, however, 
to glean up the several instances of injury, as scatter- 
ed through American and British history, and the more 
especially as, by passing on to the accession of the pre- 
sent king, we shall find specimens of them all, aggra- 
vated, multiplied and crowded within a small compass 
of time, so as to evince a fixed design of considering 
our rights natural, conventional and chartered as mere 
nullities. The following is an epitome of the first fif- 
teen years of his reign. Tiie colonies were taxed in- 
ternally and externally ; their essential interests sacri- 
ficed to individuals in Great Britain ; their legislatures 
suspended; charters annulled; trials by juries taken 
away; their persons subjected to transportation across 
the Atlantic, and to trial before foreign judicatories; 
their supplications for redress thought beneath answer; 
themselves published as cowards in the councils of their 
mother country and courts of Europe ; armed troops 
sent amongst them to enforce submission to these vio- 
lences ; and actual hostilities commenced against them. 



* Art. 4, t Art. 7. :£ Art, 8. 



$ Art. 3, 



121 



No alternative was presented but resistance, or uncon- 
ditional submission. Between these could be no hesi- 
tation. They closed in the appeal to arms. They de- 
clared themselves independent states. They confede- 
rated together into one great republic; thus securing 
to every state the benefit of an union of their whole 
force. In each state separately a new form of govern- 
ment was established. Of ours particularly the follow- 
ing are the outlines. The executive powers are lodg- 
ed in the hands of a governor, chosen annually, and 
incapable of acting more than three years in seven. 
He is assisted by a council of eight members. The 
judiciary powers are divided among several courts, as 
will be hereafter explained. — Legislation is exercised 
by two houses of assembly, the one called the house of 
Delegates, composed of two members from each coun- 
ty, chosen annually by the citizens possessing an es- 
tate for life in 100 acres of uninhabited land, or 25 acres 
w 7 ith a house on it, or in a house or lot in some town: 
the other called the Senate, consisting of 24 members, 
chosen quadrenially by the same electors, who for this 
purpose are distributed into 24 districts. The concur- 
rence of both houses is necessary to the passage of a 
law. They have the appointment of the governor and 
council, the judges of the superior courts, auditors, at- 
torney general, treasurer, register of the land office, 
and delegates to congress. As the dismemberment of 
the state had never had its confirmation, but, on the 
contrary, had always been the subject of protestation 
and complaint, that it might never be in our own power 
to raise scruples on that subject, or to disturb the har- 
mony of our new confederacy, the grants to Maryland, 
Pennsylvania, and the two Carolinas, were ratified. 

This constitution was formed when we were new 
and unexperienced, in the science of government. It 
was the first too which was formed in the whole Unit-, 
ed States. No wonder then that time and trial have 
discovered very capital defects in it. 

1. The majority of the men in the state, who pay and 
fight for its support, are unrepresented in the legisla- 
11 



122 



ture, the roll of freeholders entitled to vote not includ- 
ing generally the half of those on the roll of the militia, 
or of the tax-gatherers. 

2. Among those who share the representation, the 
shares are very unequal. Thus the county of War- 
wick with only 100 fighting men, has an equal repre 
sentation with the county of Loudon which has 1746. 
So that every man in Warwick has as much influence 
in the government as 17 men in Loudon. But lest it 
should be thought that an equal interspersion of small 
among large counties, though the whole state, may pre- 
vent any danger of injury to particular parts of it, we 
will divide it into districts, and show the proportions 
of land, of fighting men, and of representation in each : 





Square 


Fighting 


Dele- 


Sena- 




miles. 


men. 


gates. 


tors. 


Between the sea-eoast and falls 










of the rivers, 


*l 1,205 


19.012 


71 


12 


Between the falls of the rivers 








and the Blue ridge of moun- 










tains, 


18,759 


18,328 


46 


8 


Between the Blue ridge and the 








Alleghaney, 


11,911 7,673 


16 


2 


Between the Alleghaney and 










Ohio, 


+70,650 


4.45R 


16 


2 


Total, 


121,525 49,971 


143 


24 



* Of these, 342 are on the Eastern shore, 
t Of these, 22,616 are eastward of the meridian at the north 
of the Great Kanhaway. 

An inspection of this table will supply the place of 
commentaries on it. It will appear at once that 19,000 
men, living below the falls of the rivers, possess half the 
senate, and want four members only of possessing a 
majority of the house of delegates ; a want more than 
supplied by the vicinity of their situation to the seat of 
government, and of course the greater degree of con- 
venience and punctuality with which their members 
may and will attend in the legislature. These 19,000 
therefore, living in one part of the country, give law to 



123 



upwards of 30,000 living in another, and appoint all 
their chief officers executive and judiciary. From the 
difference of their situation and circumstances, their 
interests will often be very different. 

3. The senate is, by its constitution, too homogene- 
ous with the house of delegates. Being chosen by the 
same electors, at the same time, and out of the same 
subjects, the choice falls of course on men of the same 
description. The purpose of establishing different 
houses of legislation is to introduce the influence of 
different interests or different principles. Thus in 
Great Britain it is said their constitution relies on the 
house of commons for honesty, and the lords for wis- 
dom ; which would be a rational reliance if honesty 
were to be bought with money, and if wisdom were 
hereditary. In some of the American states the dele- 
gaters and senators are so chosen, as that the first re- 
present the persons, and the second the property of the 
state. But with us, wealth and wisdom have equal 
chance for admission into both houses We do not 
therefore derive from the separation of our legislature 
into two houses, those benefits which a proper compli- 
cation of principles is capable of producing, and those 
which alone can compensate the evils which may be 
produced by their dissensions. 

4. All the powers of government, legislative, execu- 
tive, and judiciary, result to the legislative body. The 
concentrating these in the same hands is precisely the 
definition of despotic government. It will be no alle- 
viation that these powers will be exercised by a plu- 
rality of hands, and not by a single one. 173 despots 
would surely be as oppressive as one. Let those who 
doubt it turn their eyes on the republic of Venice. As 
little will it avail us that they are chosen by ourselves. 
An elective despotism was not the government we fought 
for; but one which should not only be founded on free 
principles, but in which the powers of government 
should be so divided and balanced among several bodies 
of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their le- 
gal limits, without being effectually checked and re- 



124 



strained by the other3. For this reason that conven- 
tion, which passed the ordinance of government, laid 
its foundation on this basis, that the legislative, execu- 
tive and judiciary departments should be separate and 
distinct, so that no person should exercise the powers 
of more than one of them at the same time. But no 
barrier was provided between the several powers. 
The judiciary and executive members were left depen- 
dant on the legislative, for their subsistence in office, 
and some of them for their continuance in it. If there- 
fore the legislature assumes executive and judiciary 
powers, no opposition is likely to be made ; nor, if made, 
can it be effectual: because in that case they may put 
their proceedings into the form of an act of assembly, 
which will render them obligatory on the other branch- 
es. They have accordingly, in many instances, deci- 
ded rights which should have been left to judiciary 
controversy ; and the direction of the executive, dur- 
ing the whole time of their session, is becoming habitu- 
al and familiar. And this is done with no ill intention. 
The views of the present members are perfectly up- 
right. When they are led out of their regular pro- 
vince, it is by art in others, and inadvertence in them- 
selves. And this wili probably be the case for some 
time to come. Hut it will not be a very long time. 
Mankind soon learn to make interested uses of every 
right and power which they possess, or may assume. 
The public money and public liberty, intended to have 
been deposited with three branches of magistracy, hut 
found inadvertently to be in the hands of one only, will 
soon be discovered to be sources of wealth and domin- 
ion to those who hold them ; distinguished too by this 
tempting circumstance, that they are the instrument, as 
well as the object of acquisition. With money we will 
get men, said Cassar, and with men we will get money. 
Nor should our assembly be deluded by the integrity 
of their own purposes, and conclude that these un- 
limited powers will never be abused, hecaiue them- 
selves are not disposed to abuse them. They should 
look forward to a time, and that not a distant one, when 



125 



a. corruption in this, as in the country from which we 
derive our origin, will have seized the heads of govern- 
ment, and be spread by them through the body of the 
people; when they will purchase the voices of the peo- 
ple, and make them pay the price. Human nature is 
the same on every side of the Atlantic, and will be alike 
influenced by the same causes. The time to guard 
against corruption and tyranny, is before they shall 
have gotten hold on us. It is better to keep the wolf 
out of the fold, than to trust to drawing his teeth and 
talons after he shall have entered. To render these 
considerations the more cogent, we must observe in 
addition : 

5. That the ordinary legislature may alter the consti- 
tution itself. On the discontinuance of assemblies, it 
became necessary to substitute in their place some other 
body, competent to the ordinary business of government, 
and to the calling forth the powers of the state for the 
maintenance of our opposition to Great Britain. Con- 
ventions were therefore introduced, consisting of two 
delegates from each county, meeting together and form- 
ing one house, on the plan of the former house of bur- 
gesses, to whose places they succeeded. These were at 
first chosen anew for every particular session. But in 
March 1775, they recommended to the people to choose 
a convention, which should continue in office a year. 
This was done accordingly in April 1775, and in the July 
following that convention passed an ordinance for the 
election of delegates in the month of April annually. 
It is well known, that in July 1775, a separation from 
Great Britain and establishment of republican govern- 
ment had never yet entered into any person's mind. A 
convention therefore, chosen under that ordinance, can- 
not be said to have been chosen for the purposes which 
certainly did not exist in the minds of those who passed 
it. Under this ordinance, at the annual election in April 
1776, a convention for the year was chosen. Indepen- 
dence, and the establishment of a new form of govern- 
ment, were not even yet the objects of the people at 
large. One extract from the pamphlet called Common 
IP 



126 



Sense bad appeared in the Virginia papers in February, 
and copies of the pamphlet itself had got in a few hands. 
But the idea had not been opened to the mass of the 
people in April, much less can it be said that they had 
made up their minds in its favour. — So that the electors 
of April 1776, no more than the legislators of July 1775, 
not thinking of independence and a permanent republic, 
could not mean to vest in these delegates powers of 
establishing them, or any authorities other than those 
of the ordinary legislature. So far as a temporary or- 
ganization of government was necessary to render our 
opposition energetic, so far their organization was valid. 
But they received in their creation no powers but what 
were given to every legislature before and since. — They 
could not therefore pass an act transcendent to the pow- 
ers of other legislatures. If the present assembly pass 
an act, and declare it shall be irrevocable by subsequent 
assemblies, the declaration is merely void, and the-act 
repeal a Me, as other acts are. So far, and no farther 
authorised, they organized the government by the ordi- 
nance entitled a constitution or form of government. 
It pretends to no higher authority than the other ordi- 
nances of the same session ; it does not say, that it shall 
be perpetual ; that it shall be unalterable by other legis- 
latures ; that it shall be transcendent above the powers 
of those, who they knew would have equal power with 
themselves. Not only the silence of the instrument is 
a j>roof they thought it would be alterable, but their 
own practice also ; for this very convention, meeting 
as a house of delegates in general assembly with the 
senate in the autumn of that year, passed acts of assem- 
bly in contradiction to their ordinance of government : 
and every assembly from that time to this has done the 
same. 1 am safe therefore in the position, that the con- 
stitution itself is alterable by the ordinary legislature. 
Though this opinion seems founded on the first ele- 
ments of common sense, yet is the contrary maintained 
by some persons. L Because say they, the conven- 
tions were vested with every power necessary to make 
effectual opposition to Great Britain. But to complete 



127 



this argument, they must go on, and say further, that 
effectual opposition could not be made to Great Pritain, 
without establishing a form of government perpetual 
and unalterable by the legislature ; which is not true. 
An opposition which at some time or other was to come 
to an end, could not need a perpetual institution to car- 
ry it on: and a government, amendable as its defects 
should be discovered, was as likely to make effectual 
resistance, as one which should be unalterably wrong. 
Besides, the assemblies were as much vested with all 
powers requisite for resistance as the conventions were. 
If therefore these powers included that of modelling the 
form of government in the one case, they did so in the 
other* The assemblies then as well as the conventions 
may model the government; that is, they may alter the 
ordinance of government. 2. They urge, that if the 
convention had meant that this instrument should be 
alterable, as their other ordinances were, they would 
have called it an ordinance : but they have called it a 
constitution, which ex vi termini means 4 an act above 
the power of the ordinary legislature.' I answer that 
constitution constitution, statutum, lex, are convertible 
terms. c Constituiio dicitur jus quod a principe condi- 
ture.' — Constitutum quod ab imperatoribus rescript um. 
statutumve est. 'Statutum, idem quod lex.' Calvini Lexi- 
con juridicurn. Constitution and statute were original- 
ly terms of the* civil law, and from thence introduced 
by ecclesiastics into the English Jaw. — Thus in the 
statute 25 Hen. VIII. c. 19. § 1. 4 Constitutions and or- 
dinances 1 are used as synonymous. The term constitu- 
tion lias many other significations in physics and in 
politics ; but in jurisprudence, whenever it is applied to 
any act of the legislature, it invariably means a statute, 
law, or ordinance, which is the present case. No in- 
ference then of a different meaning can be drawn from 
the adoption of this title; on the contrary, we might 

* To bid, to set, was the ancient legislative worr s of the Eng- 
lish. LL. Hlotharri and Ldrici. LI. lnae. LI. Eadvveidi. — 
El. Aathelstani. 



128 



conclude, that, by their affixing to it a term synonymous 
with ordinance or statute. But of what consequence 
is their meaning, where their power is denied ? If they 
meant to do more than they had power to do, did this 
give them power? It is not the name, but the authority 
that renders an act obligatory. Lord Coke says, ' an 
article of the statute 11 R. II. c. 5. that no person 
should attempt to revoke any ordinance then made, is 
repealed, for that such restraint is against the jurisdic- 
tion and power of the parliament,' 4 Inst. 42, and again, 
4 though divers parliaments have attempted to restrain 
subsequent parliaments, yet could they never effect it ; 
for the latter parliament hath ever power to abrogate, 
suspend, qualify, explain, or make void the former in 
the whole or in any part thereof, notwithstanding any 
words of restraint, prohibition, or penalty, in the for- 
mer : for it is a maxim in the laws of the parliament, 
quod leges posteriores priores contrarias abrogant.' 
4 Inst. 43. — To get rid of the magic supposed to be in 
the word constitution, let us translate it into its defini- 
tion as given by those who think it above the power of 
the law ; and let us suppose the convention, instead of 
saying, e We the ordinary legislature establish a con- 
stitution,' had said, £ We the ordinary legislature, estab- 
lish an act above the power of the ordinary legislature,'' — 
Does not this expose the absurdity of the attempt ? 3. 
But, say they, the people have acquiesced, and this has 
given it an authority superior to the laws. — It is true, 
that the people did not rebel against it : and was that a 
time for the people to rise in rebellion? Should a pru- 
dent acquiescence, at a critical time, be construed into a 
confirmation of every illegal thing done during that pe- 
riod ? Besides, why should they rebel ? At an annual 
election, they had chosen delegates for the year, to ex- 
ercise the ordinary powers of legislation, and to manage 
the great contest in which they were engaged. These 
delegates thought the contest would be best managed by 
an organized government. They therefore, among others, 
passed an ordinance of government. They did not pre- 
sume to call it perpetual and unalterable. They well 



129 



knew they had no power to make it so ; that our choice 
of them had been for no such purpose, and at a time 
when we could have no such purpose in contemplation. 
Had an unalterable form of government heen meditat- 
ed, perhaps we should have chosen a different set of 
people. There was no cause then for the people to rise 
in rebellion. But to what dangerous lengths will this 
argument lead ? Did the acquiescence of the colonies 
under the various acts of power exercised by Great 
Britain in our infant state, confirm these acts, and so 
far invest them with the authority of the people as to 
render them unalterable, and our present resistance 
wrong ? On every unauthoritative exercise of power 
by the legislature, must the people rise in rebellion, or 
their silence be construed into a surrender of that power 
to them ? If so, how many rebellions should we have 
had already? One certainly for every session of assem- 
bly. The other states in the union have been of opin- 
ion, that to render a form of government unalterable by 
ordinary acts of assembly, the people must delegate per- 
sons with special powers. They have accordingly 
chosen special conventions to form and fix their govern- 
ments. The individuals then who maintain the contra- 
ry opinion in this country, should have the modesty to 
suppose it possible that they may be wrong, and the 
rest of America right. But if there be only a possibility 
of their being wrong, if only a plausible doubt remains 
of the validitv of the ordinance of government, is it not 
better to remove that doubt, by placing it on a bottom 
which none will dispute ? If they be right we shall only 
have the unnecessary trouble of meeting once in con- 
vention. If they be wrong, they expose us to the hazard 
of having no fundamental rights at all. True it is, this 
is no time for deliberating on forms of government. 
While an enemy is within our bowels, the first object is 
to expel him. But when this shall be done, when peace 
shall be established, and leisure given us for entrench- 
ing within good forms, the rights for which we have 
bled, let no man be found indolent enough to decline a 
little more trouble for placing them beyond the reach of 



130 



question. If any thing more be requisite to produce a 
conviction of the expediency of calling a convention at 
a proper season to fix our form of government, let it be 
the reflection : 

6. That the assembly exercises a power of determin- 
ing the quorum of their own body which may legislate 
for us. After the establishment of the new form they 
adhered to the Lex maj oris partis, founded in* common 
law as well as common right. It is thef natural law 
of every assembly of men, whose numbers are not fixed 
by any other law. They continued for some time to re- 
quire the presence of a majority of their whole number, 
to pass an act. But the British parliament fixes its own 
quorum : our former assemblies fixed their own quorum: 
and one precedent in favour of power is stronger than 
an hundred against it. The house of delegates there- 
fore have]: lately voted that, during the present dan- 
gerous invasion, forty members shall be a house to pro- 
ceed to business. They have been moved to this by the 
fear of not being able to collect a house. But this dan- 
ger could not authorise them to call that a house which 
was none : and if they may fix it at one number, they 
may at another, till it loses its fundamental character of 
being a representative body. As this vote expires with 
the present invasion, it is probable the former rule will 
be permitted to revive : because at present no ill is 
meant. The power however of fixing their own quorum 
has been avowed, and a precedent set. From forty it 
may be reduced to four, and from four to one : from a 
house to a committee, from a committee to a chairman 
or speaker, and thus an oligarchy or monarchy be sub- 
stituted under forms supposed to be regular. 4 Omnia 
mala exempla ex bonis orta sunt: sed ubi imperium ad 
ignaros aut minus bonus pervenit, novum illud exem- 
plum ab dignis et idoneis ad indignos et non idoneos 
fertur.' When therefore it is considered, that there is 

* Bro. abr. Corporations, 31. 34. Hakewell, 93. 
t Huff. Off. hom. 1. 2. c. 6. i. 12. 
f June 4, 1781. 



131 



no legal obstacle to the assumption by the assembly of 
all the powers legislative, executive, and judiciary, and 
that these may come to the hands of the smallest rag 
of delegation, surely the people will say, and their repre- 
sentatives, while yet they have honest representatives, 
will advise them to say, that they will not acknowledge 
as laws any acts not considered and assented to by the 
major part of their delegates. 

In enumerating the defects of the constitution, it 
would be wrong to count among them what is only the 
error of particular persons. In December 1776, our 
circumstances being much distressed, it was proposed 
in the house of delegates to create a dictator, invested 
with every power legislative, executive and judiciary, 
civil and military, of life and of death, over our persons 
and over our properties : and in June 1781, again under 
calamity, the same proposition was repeated, and want- 
ed a few votes only of being passed. One who entered 
into this contest from a pure love of liberty, and a sense 
of injured rights, who determined to make every sacri- 
fice, and to meet every clanger, for the reestablish ment 
of those rights on a firm basis, who did not mean to ex- 
pend his blood and substance for the wretched purpose 
of changing this master for that, but to place the powers 
of governing him in a plurality of hands of his own 
choice, so that the corrupt will of no one man might in 
future oppress him, must stand confounded and dismay- 
ed when he is told, that a considerable portion of that 
plurality had meditated the surrender of them into a 
single hand, and, in lieu of a limited monarchy, to de- 
liver him over to a despotic one ! How must we find 
his efforts and sacrifices abused and baffled, if he may 
still by a single vote be laid prostrate at the feet of one 
man ! In God's name from whence have they derived 
this power ? Is it from our ancient laws ? None such 
can be produced. Is it from any principle in our new 
constitution expressed or implied ? Every lineament of 
that expressed or implied, is in full opposition to it. Its 
fundamental principle is, that the state shall be govern- 
ed as a commonwealth. It provides a republican or- 



132 



ganization, proscribes under the name of prerogative 
the exercise of all powers undefined by the laws ; places 
on this basis the whole system of our laws; and by con- 
solidating them together, chooses that they should be 
left to stand or fall together, never providing for any 
circumstances, nor admitting that such could ~ v ise, 
wherein either should be suspended, no, not for a mo- 
ment. Our ancient laws expressly declare, that those 
who are but delegates themselves shall not delegate to 
others powers which require judgment and integrity in 
their exercise. Or was this proposition moved on a 
supposed right in the movers of abandoning their posts 
in a moment of distress ? The same laws forbid the 
abandonment of that post, even on ordinary occasions ; 
and much more a transfer of their powers into other 
hands and other forms, without consulting the people. 
They never admit the idea that these, like sheep or cat- 
tle, may be given from hand to hand without an appeal 
to their own will. — Was it from the necessity of the 
case? Necessities which dissolve a government, do not 
convey its authority to an oligarchy or a monarchy. 
They throw back, into the hands of the people, the 
powers they had delegated, and leave them as indi- 
viduals to shift for themselves. A leader may offer, but 
not impose himself, nor be imposed on them. Much 
less can their necks be submitted to his sword, their 
breath to be held at his will or caprice. The necessity 
which should operate these tremendous effects should 
at least be palpable and irrisistible. Yet in both in- 
stances, where it was feared, or pretended with us, it 
was belied by the event. It was belied too by the pre- 
ceding experience of our sister states, several of whom 
had grappled through greater difficulties without aban- 
doning their forms of government. When the proposi- 
tion was first made, Massachusetts had found even the 
government of committees sufficient to carry them 
through an invasion. But we at the time of that propo- 
sition were under no invasion. When the second was 
made, there had been added to this example those of 
Rhode-Island, New-York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylva- 



133 



nia, in all of which the republican form had been found 
equal to the task of carrying them through the severest 
trials. In this state alone did there exist so little virtue, 
that fear was to be fixed in the hearts of the people, and 
to become the motive of their exertions, and principle of 
their government? The very thought alone was trea- 
son against the people ; was treason against mankind 
in general ; as riveting forever the chains which bow 
down their necks, by giving to their oppressors a proof, 
which they would have trumpeted through the universe,^ 
of the imbecility of republican government, in times of 
pressing danger, to shield them from harm. Those 
who assume the right of giving away the reigns of gov- 
ernment in any case, must be sure that the herd, whom 
they hand on to the rods and hatchet of the dictator, 
will lay their necks on the block when he shall nod to 
them. But if our assemblies supposed such a resigna- 
tion in the people, I hope they mistook their character. 
I am of opinion, that the government, instead of being 
braced and invigorated for greater exertions under 
their difficulties, would have been thrown back upon 
the bungling machinery of county committees for ad- 
ministration, till a convention could have been called, 
and its wheels again set into regular motion. What a 
cruel moment was this for creating such an embarrass- 
ment, for putting to the proof the attachment of our 
countrymen to republican government! Those who 
meant well, of the advocates for this measure, (and 
most of them meant well, for 1 know them personally, 
had been their fellow-labourers in the common cause, 
and had often proved the purity of their principles,) 
had been seduced in their judgment by the example of 
an ancient republic, whose constitution and circum- 
stances were fundamentally different. They had sought 
this precedent in the history of Rome, where alone it 
was to he found, and where at length too it had proved 
fatal. They had taken it from a republic rent by the 
most bitter factions and tumults, where the govern- 
ment was of a heavy-handed unfeeling aristocracy, over 
a people ferocious, and rendered desperate by poverty 
12 



134 



and wretchedness ; tumults which could not be allayed 
under the most trying circumstances, but by the om- 
nipotent hand of a single despot. — Their constitution 
therefore allowed a temporary tyrant to be erected, 
under the name of a dictator ; and that temporary ty- 
rant, after a few examples, became perpetual. They 
misapplied this precedent to a people, mild in their dis- 
positions, patient under their trial, united for the public 
liberty, and affectionate to their leaders. But if from 
the constitution of the Roman government there re- 
sulted to their senate a power of submitting all their 
rights to the will of one man, does it follow, that the 
assembly of Virginia has the same authority ? What 
clause in our constitution has substituted that of Rome, 
by way of residuary provision, for all cases not other- 
wise provided for? Or if they may step ad libitum into 
any other form of government for precedents to rule us 
by, for what oppression may not a precedent be found 
in this world of the helium omnium in omnia ? — ^Search- 
ing for the foundations of this proposition, I can find 
none which may pretend a colour of right or reason, 
but the defect before developed, that there being no 
barrier between the legislative, executive, and judiciary 
departments, the legislature may seize the whole: that 
having seized it, and possessing a right to fix their own 
quorum, they may reduce that quorum to one, whom 
they may call a chairman, speaker, dictator, or by any 
other name they please. Our situation is indeed peril- 
ous, and I hope my countrymen will be sensible of it, 
and will apply, at a proper season the proper remedy; 
which is a convention to fix the constitution, to amend 
its defects, to bind up the several branches of govern- 
ment by certain laws, which when they transgress their 
acts shall become nullities : to render unnecessary an 
appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on 
every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their 
acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to sur- 
render those rights. 



135 



QUERY XIV. 

The administration of justice, and the description of 
the laws ? 

The state is divided into counties. In every county 
are appointed magistrates, called justices of the peace, 
usually from eight to thirty or forty in number, in pro- 
portion to the size of the county, of the most discreet 
and horest inhabitants. They are nominated by their 
fellows, but commissioned by the governor, and act 
without reward. These magistrates have jurisdiction 
both criminal and civil. If the question before them 
be a question of law only, they decide on it themselves : 
but if it be of fact, or of fact and law combined, it must 
be referred to a jury. In the latter case, of a combina- 
tion of law and fact, it is usual for the jurors to decide 
the fact, and to refer the law arising on it to the deci- 
sion of the judges. But this division of the subject lies 
with their discretion only. And if the question relate 
to any point of public liberty, or if it be one of those in 
which the judges may be suspeeted of bias, the jury un- 
dertake to decide both law and fact. If they be mis- 
taken, t decision against right, which is casual only, is 
less dangerous to the state, and less afflicting to the 
loser, than one w r hich makes part of a regular and uni- 
form system. In truth it is better to toss up cross and 
pile in a cause, than to refer it to a judge whose mind 
is warped by any motive whatever, in that particular 
case. But the common sense of twelve honest men 
gives still a better chance of just decision, than the ha- 
zard of cross and pile. These judges execute their 
process bj the sheriff or coroner of the county, or by 
constables of their own appointment. If any free per- 
son commit an offence against the commonwealth, if it 
be below the degree of felony, he is bound by a justice 
to appear before their court, to answer it on indictment 
or information. If it amount to felony, he is commit- 
ted to jail ; a court of these justices is called : if they on 
examination think him guilty, they send him to the jail 



136 



of the general court, before which court he is to be tri- 
ed first by a grand jury of 24, of whom 13 must concur 
in opinion : if they find him guilty, he is then tried by 
a jury of 12 men of the county where the offence was 
committed, and by their verdict, which must be unani- 
mous, he is acquitted or condemned without appeal. If 
the criminal be a slave, the trial by the county court is 
final. In every case, however, except that of high trea- 
son, there resides in the governor a power of pardon. 
In high treason, the pardon can only flow from the ge- 
neral assembly. In civil matters these justices have 
jurisdiction in all cases of whatever value, not apper- 
taining to the department of the admiralty. This ju- 
risdiction is twofold. If the matter in dispute be of 
less value than four dollars and one-sixth, a single 
member may try it at any time and place within ins 
county, and may award execution on the goods of the 
party cast. If it be of that or greater value, it is de- 
terminable before the county court, which consists of 
four at least of those justices, and assembles at the 
court-house of the county on a certain daj in every 
month. From their determination, if the matter be of 
the value of ten pounds sterling, or concern the title or 
bounds of lands, an appeal lies to one of the superior 
courts. 

There are three superior courts, to wit, the high 
court of chancery, the general court, and the court of 
admiralty. The first and second of these receive ap- 
peals from the county courts, and also have original ju- 
risdiction, where the subject of controversy is of the 
value of ten pounds sterling, or where it concerns the 
title or bounds of land. The jurisdiction or" the admi- 
ralty is original altogether. The high court of chance- 
ry is composed of three judges, the general court of 
five, and the court of admiralty of three. The two first 
hold their sessions at Richmond at stated times, the 
chancery twice in the year, and the general court twice 
for business civil and criminal, and twice more for cri- 
minal only. The court of admiralty sits at Williams- 
burgh whenever controversy arises. 



137 



There is one supreme court, called the court of ap* 
peals, composed of the judges of the three superior 
courts, assembling twice a year at stated times at Rich* 
mond. This court receives appeals in all civil cases 
from each of the superior courts, and determines them 
finally. But it has no original jurisdiction. 

If a controversy arise between two foreigners of a 
nation in alliance with the United States, it is decided 
by the Consul for their state, or, if both parties choose 
it, by the ordinary courts of justice. If one of the par- 
ties only be such a foreigner, it is triable before the 
courts of justice of the country. But if it shall have 
been instituted in a county court, the foreigner may re- 
move it into the general court, or court of chancery, 
who are to determine it at their first sessions, as they 
must also do if it be originally commenced before them* 
In cases of life and death, such foreigners have a right 
to be tried by a jury, the one half foreigners, the other 
natives. 

All public accounts are settled with a board of audi- 
tors, consisting of three members appointed by the ge- 
neral assembly, any two of whom may act. But an in- 
dividual, dissatisfied with the determination of that 
board, may carry his case into the proper superior 
court. 

A description of the laws. 

The general assembly was constituted, as has been 
already shown, by letters patent of March the ninth 3 
1607, in the fourth year of the reign of James the first. 
The laws of England seem to have been adopted by 
consent of the settlers, which might easily enough be 
done whilst they were few and living all together. Of 
such adoption, however, we have no other proof than 
their practice till the year 166 J, when they were ex- 
pressly adopted by an act of the assembly, except so far 
as 6 a difference of condition ' rendered them inapplica- 
ble. Under this adoption, the rule, in our courts of ju- 
dicature was, that the common law of England, and the 
general statutes previous to the 4th of James, were in 
force here ; but that no subsequent statutes, were, wn- 



138 



less we ivere named in them, said the judges and other 
partisans of the crown, but named or not named, said 
those who reflected freely. It will be unnecessary to 
attempt a description of the laws of England, as that 
may be found in English publications. To those which 
were established here, by the adoption of the legisla- 
ture, have been since added a number of acts of assem- 
bly passed during the monarchy, and ordinances of 
convention and acts of assembly enacted since the es- 
tablishment of the republic. The following variations 
from the British model are perhaps worthy of being 
specified. 

Debtors unable to pay their debts, and making faith- 
ful delivery of their whole effects, are released from 
confinement, and their persons forever discharged from 
restraint for such previous debts: but any property 
they may afterwards acquire will be suDject to their 
creditors. 

The poor, unable to support themselves, are main- 
tained by an assessment on the tvtlieable persons in 
their parish. This assessment is levied and adminis- 
tered by twelve persons in each parish, called vestry- 
men, originally chosen by the housekeepers of the pa- 
rish, but afterwards filling vacancies in their own body 
by their own choice. These are usually the most dis- 
creet farmers, so distributed through their parish, that 
every part of it may be under the immediate eye of 
some one of them. They are well acquainted with the 
details and economy of private life, and they find suffi- 
cient inducements to execute their charge well, in their 
philanthropy, in the approbation of their neighbours, 
and the distinction which that gives them. The poor 
who have neither property, friends, nor strength to la- 
bour, are boarded in the houses of good farmers, to 
whom a stipulated sum is annually paid. To those 
who are able to help themselves a little, or have friends 
from whom they derive some succours, inadequate how- 
ever to their full maintenance, supplementary aids are 
given which enable them to live comfortably in their 
own houses, or in the houses of their friends. Vaga- 



139 

bonds without visible property or vocation, are placed 
in work houses, where they are well clothed, fed, lodg- 
ed, and made to labour. Nearly the same method of 
providing for the poor prevails through all our states; 
and from Savannah to Portsmouth you will seldom 
meet a beggar. In the large towns, indeed they some- 
times present themselves. These are usually foreign- 
ers, who have never obtained a settlement in any pa- 
rish. I never yet saw a native American begging in 
the streets or highways. A subsistence is easily gain- 
ed here : and if, by misfortunes, they are thrown on the 
charities of the world, those provided by their own 
country are so comfortable and so certain, that they 
never think of relinquishing them to become strolling 
beggars. Their situation too, when sick, in the family 
of a good farmer, where every member is emulous to 
do them kind offices, where they are visited by all the 
neighbours, who bring them the little rarities which 
their sickly appetites may crave, and who take by ro- 
tation the nightly watch over them, when their condi- 
tion requires it, is without comparison better than in a 
general hospital, where the sick, the dying and the dead f 
are crammed together, in the same rooms, and often 
in the same beds. The disadvantages, inseparable 
from general hospitals, are sue!) as can never be coun- 
terpoised by all the regularities of medicine and regi- 
men. Nature and kind nursing save a much greater 
proportion in our plain way, at a smaller expense, and 
with less abuse. One branch only of hospital institu- 
tion is wanting with us; that is, a general establish- 
ment for those labouring under difficult cases of ehirur- 
gery. The aids of this art are not equivocal. But an 
able chirurgeon cannot be had in every parish. Such 
a receptacle should therefore be provided for those pa- 
tients: but no others should be admitted. 

Marriages must be solemnized either on special li- 
cense, granted by the first magistrate of the county, on 
proof of the consent of the parent or guardian of either 
party under age, or after solemn publication, on three 
several Sundays, at some place of religious worship, in 



140 



the parishes where the parties reside. The act of so- 
lemnization may he hy the minister of any society of 
Christians, who shall have been previously licensed for 
this purpose by the court of the county. Quakers and 
Menonists, however, are exempted from all these con- 
ditions, and marriage among them is to be solemnized 
by the society itself. 

A foreigner of any nation, not in open war with us, 
becomes naturalized by removing to the state to reside, 
and taking an oath of fidelity ; and thereupon acquires 
every right of a native citizen: and citizens may divest 
themselves of that character, by declaring, by solemn 
deed, or in open court, that they mean to expatriate 
themselves, and no longer t# be citizens of this state. 

Conveyances of land must be registered in the court 
of the county wherein they lie, or in the general court, 
or they are void, as to creditors, and subsequent pur- 
chasers. Slaves pass by descent and dower as lands 
do. Where the descent is from a parent, the heir is 
bound to pay an equal share of their value in money to 
each of his brothers and sisters. 

Slaves, as well as lands, were entailable during the 
monarchy: but, by an act of the first republican as- 
sembly, all donees in tail, present and future, were vested 
with the absolute dominion of the entailed subject. 

Bills of exchange, being protested, carry 10 per cent, 
interest from their date. 

No person is allowed, in any other case, to take more 
than five per cent, per annum simple interest for the 
loan of moneys. 

Gaming debts are made void, and moneys actually 
paid to discharge such debts (if they exceed 40 shillings) 
may be recovered by the payer within three months, or 
by any other person afterwards. 

Tobacco, flour, beef, pork, tar, pitch, and turpentine, 
must be inspected by persons publicly appointed, before 
they can be exported. 

The erecting iron works and mills is encouraged by 
many privileges; with necessary cautions however to 



141 

prevent their dams from obstructing the navigation of 
the water-courses. The general assembly have on se- 
veral occasions shown a great desire to encourage the 
opening the great falls of James and Patowmac rivers. 
As yet however, neither of these have been effected. 

The laws have also descended to the preservation 
and improvement of the races of useful animals, such as 
horses, cattle, deer ; to the extirpation of those which 
are noxious, as wolves, squirrels, crows, blackbirds; 
and to the guarding our citizens against infectious dis- 
orders, by obliging suspected vessels coming into the 
state, to perform quarantine, and by regulating the con- 
duct of persons having such disorders within the state. 

The mode of acquiring lands, in the earliest times of 
our settlement, was by petition to the general assem- 
bly. If the lands prayed for were already cleared of 
the Indian title, and the assembly thought the prayer 
reasonable, they passed the property by their vote to 
the petitioner. But if they had not yet been ceded by 
the Indians, it was necessary that the petitioner should 
previously purchase their right. This purchase the as- 
sembly verified, by enquiries of the Indian proprietors ; 
and being satisfied of its reality and fiirness, proceeded 
further to examine the reasonableness of the petition, 
and its consistence with policy ; and according to the 
result, either granted or rejected the petition. The 
company also sometimes, though very rarely, granted 
lands, independently of the general assembly. As the 
colony increased, and individual applications for laud 
multiplied, it was found to give, too much occupation to 
the general assembly to enquire into and execute the 
grant in every special case. They therefore thought it 
better to establish general rules, according to which all 
grants should be made, and to leave to the governor 
the execution of them, under these rules. This they 
did by what have been usually called the land laws, 
amending them from time to time, as their defects were 
developed. According to these laws, when an indivi- 
dual wished a portion of unappropriated land, he was 
to locate and survey it by a public officer, appointed 



142 



for that purpose: its breadth was to bear a certain pro- 
portion to its length ; the grant was to be executed by 
the governor: and the lands were to be improved in a 
certain manner, within a given time. From these re- 
gulations there resulted to the state a sole and exclu- 
sive power of taking conveyances of the Indian right 
of soil: since, according to them an Indian conveyance 
alone could give no right to an individual, which the 
laws would acknowledge. The state, or the crown, 
thereafter, made general purchases of the Indians from 
time to time, and the governor parcelled them out by 
special grants, conformable to the rules before describ- 
ed, which it was not in his power, or in that of the 
crown, to dispense with. Grants, unaccompanied by 
their proper legal circumstances, were set aside regu- 
larly by scire facias, or by bill in chancery. Since the 
establishment of our new government, this order of 
things is but little changed. An individual, wishing to 
appropriate to himself lands still unappropriated by 
any other, pays to the public treasurer a sum of money 
proportioned to the quantity he wants. He carries the 
treasurer^ receipt to the auditors of public accompts, 
who thereupon debit the treasurer with the sum, and 
order the register of the land office to give the party a 
warrant for his land. With this warrant from the re- 
gister, he goes to the surveyor of the county w 7 here the 
land lies on which he has cast his eye. The surveyor 
lays it off for him, gives him its exact description, in 
the form of a certificate, which certificate he returns 
to the land office, where a grant is made out, and is 
signed by the governor. This vests in him a perfect 
dominion in his lands, transmissible to whom he pleases 
by deed or will, or by descent to his heirs, if he die in- 
testate. 

Many of the laws which were in force during the 
monarchy being relative merely to that form of govern- 
ment, or inculcating principles inconsistent with re- 
publicanism, the first assembly which met after the 
establishment of the commonwealth appointed a com- 
mittee to revise the whole code, to reduce it into pro- 



j 



143 



per form and volume, and report it to the assembly* 
This work has been executed by three gentlemen, and 
reported; but probably will not be taken up till a re- 
storation of peace shall leave to the legislature leisure 
to go through such a work. 

The plan of the rev i sal was this. The common law 
of England, by which is meant, that part of the English 
law which was anterior to the date of the oldest sta- 
tutes extant, is made the basis of the work. It was 
thought dangerous to attempt to reduce it to a text: it 
was therefore left to be collected from the usual monu- 
ments of it. Necessary alterations in that, and so much 
of the whole body of the British statutes, and of acts 
of assembly, as were thought proper to be retained, 
were digested into 126 new acts, in which simplicity 
of style was aimed at, as far as was safe. The follow- 
ing are the most remarkable alterations proposed: 

To change the rules of descent, so as that the lands 
of any person dying intestate shall be divisible equally 
among all his children, or other representatives, in equal 
degree. 

To make slaves distributable among the next of kin, 
as other moveables. 

To have all public expenses, whether of the general 
treasury, or of a parish or county, (as for the mainten- 
ance of the poor, building bridges, court-houses, &c.) 
supplied by assessments on the citizens, in proportion 
to their property. 

To hire undertakers for keeping the public roads in 
repair, and indemnify individuals through whose lands 
new roads shall be opened. 

To define with precision the rules whereby aliens 
should become citizens, and citizens make themselves 
aliens. 

To establish religious freedom on the broadest bot- 
tom. 

To emancipate all slaves born after passing the act. 
The bill reported by the revisors does not itself con- 
tain this proposition ; but an amendment containing 
it was prepared, to be offered to the legislature when- 



144 



ever the bill should be taken up, and further directing, 
that they should continue with their parents to a cer- 
tain age, then he brought up, at the puhlic expense, to 
tillage, arts or sciences, according to their geniuses, till 
the females should be eighteen, and the males twenty- 
one years of age, when they should be colonized to 
such place as the circumstances of the time should ren- 
der most proper, sending them out with arms, imple- 
ments of household and of the handicraft arts, seeds, 
pairs of the useful domestic animals, &c. to declare 
them a free and independent people, and extend to 
them our alliance and protection, till they have acquir- 
ed strength ; and to send vessels at the same time to 
other parts of the world for an equal number of white 
inhabitants; to induce whom to migrate hither, proper 
encouragements were to he proposed. It will probably 
be asked, Why not retain and incorporate the blacks 
into the state, and thus save the expense of supplying 
by importation of white settlers, the vacancies they will 
leave ? Deep rooted prejudices entertained by the 
whites ; ten thousand recollections, by the blacks, of 
the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; 
the real distinctions which nature has made ; and many 
other circumstances, will divide us into parties, and pro- 
duce convulsions, which will probably never end but 
in the extermination of the one or the other race. — 
To these objections, which are political, may be a^ded 
others, which are physical and moral. The first differ- 
ence which strikes us is that of colour. — Whether the 
black of the negro resides in the reticular membrane 
between the ski?) and scarf-skin, or in the scarf-skin it- 
self; whether it proceeds from the colour of the blood, 
the colour of the bile, or from that of some other secre- 
tion, the difference is fixed in nature, and is as real as 
if its seat and cause were better known to us. And is 
this difference of no importance ? Is it not the founda- 
tion of a greater or less share of beauty in the two 
races? Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, 
the expressions of every passion by greater or less suf- 
fusions of colour in the one, preferable to that eternal 



145 



monotony, which reigns ki the countenances, that im- 
movable veil of black which covers all the emotions of 
the other race ? Add to these, flowing hair, a more- 
elegant symmetry of form, their own judgment in fa- 
vour of the whites, declared by their preference of 
them, as uniformly as is the preference of the Oranoo- 
tan for the black women over those of his own species. 
The circumstance of superior beauty, is thought wor- 
thy attention in the propagation of our horses, dogs, 
and other domestic animals; why not in that of man? 
Besides those of colour, figure, and hair, there are other 
physical distinctions proving a difference of race. They 
have less hair on the face and body. They secrete less 
by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, 
which gives them a very strong and disagreeable odour. 
This greater degree of transpiration renders them more 
tolerant of heat, and less so of cold than the whites. 
Perhaps too a difference of structure in the pulmonary 
apparatus, which a late ingenious* experimentalist has 
discovered to be the principal regulator of animal heat, 
may have disabled them from extricating, in the act of 
inspiration, so much of that fluid from the outer air, or 
obliged them in expiration, to part with more of it. 
They seem to require less sleep. A black after hard 
labour through the day, will be induced by the slightest 
amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though 
knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the 
morning. They are at least as brave, and more adven- 
turesome. But this may perhaps proceed from a want 
ot forethought, which prevents their seeing a danger 
till it be present. — When present, they do not go through 
it with more coolness or steadiness than the whites. 
They are more ardent after their female : but love seems 
with them to be more an eager desire, than a tender 
delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation. Their 
griefs are transient. Those numberless afflictions, 
which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life 
to us in mercy or ia wrath, are less felt, and sooner for- 



* Crawford. 

13 



146 



gotten with them. In general, their existence appears 
to participate more of sensation than reflection. To 
this must he ascribed their disposition to sleep when 
abstracted from their diversions, and unemployed in la- 
bour. An animal whose body is at rest, and who does 
not reflect, must be disposed to sleep of course. Com- 
paring them by their faculties of memory, reason, and 
imagination, it appears to me that in memory they are 
equal to the whites ; in reason much inferior, as I think 
one could scarcely be found capable of tracing and com- 
prehending the investigations of Euclid ; and that in 
imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous. It 
would be unfair to follow them to Africa for this inves- 
tigation. We will consider them here, on the same 
stage with the whites, and where the facts are not apo- 
cryphal on which a judgment is to be formed. It will 
be right to make great allowances for the difference of 
condition, of education, of conversation, of the sphere 
in which they move. Many millions of them have been 
brought to, and born in America. Most of them indeed 
have been confined to tillage, to their own homes, and 
their own society : yet many have been so situated, 
that they might have availed themselves of the conver- 
sation of their masters; many have been brought up 
to the handicraft arts, and from that circumstance have 
always been associated with the whites. Some have 
been liberally educated, and all have lived in countries 
where the arts and sciences are cultivated to a consid- 
erable degree, and have had before their eyes samples 
of the best works from abroad. The Indians, with no 
advantages of this kind, will often carve figures on their 
pipes not destitute of design and merit. They will 
crayon out an animal, a plant, or a country, so as to 
prove the existence of a germ in their minds which only 
wants cultivation. They astonish you with strokes of 
the most sublime oratory ; such as prove their reason 
and sentiment strong, their imagination glowing and 
elevated. But never yet could I find that a black had 
uttered a thought above the level of plain narration ; 
never saw even an elementary trait of painting or sculp- 



147 



ture. In music they are more generally gifted than the 
whites with accurate ears for tune and time, and they 
have been found capable of imagining a small catch.* 
Whether they will be equal to the composition of a 
more extensive run of melody, or of complicated har- 
mony, is yet to be proved. Misery is often the parent 
of the most affecting touches in poetry. Among the 
blacks is misery enough, God knows, but no poetry. 
Love is the peculiar oestrum of the poet. Their love is 
ardent, but it kindles the senses only, not the imagina- 
tion. Religion indeed has produced a Phyllis Whately ; 
but it could not produce a poet. The compositions 
published under her name are below the dignity of cri- 
ticism. The heroes of the Dunciad are to her, as Her- 
cules to the author of that poem. Ignatius Sancho has 
approached nearer to merit in composition ; yet bis let- 
ters do more honour to the heart than the head. They 
breathe the purest effusions of friendship and general 
philanthropy, and show how great a degree of the lat- 
ter may be compounded with strong religious zeal. He 
is often happy in the turn of his compliments, and his 
style is easy and familiar, except when he affects a 
Shandean fabrication of words. But his imagination is 
wild and extravagant, escapes incessantly from every 
restraint of reason and taste, and, in the course of its 
vagaries, leaves a tract of thought as incoherent and 
eccentric, as is the course of a meteor through the sky. 
His subjects should often have led him to a process of 
sober reasoning : yet we find him always substituting 
sentiment for demonstration. Upon the whole, though 
we admit him to the first place among those of his own 
colour who have presented themselves to the public 
judgment, yet when we compare him with the writers 
of the race among whom he lived, and particularly with 
the epistolary class, in which he has taken his own 
stand, we are compelled to enrol him at the bottom of 

* The instrument proper to then) is the Banjar, vvbfah they 
brought hither from Aftica, and which is the original of the gui- 
tar, its chords being precisely the four lower chords of the guitar. 



148 



the column. This criticism supposes the letters pub- 
lished under his name to be genuine, and to have re- 
ceived amendment from no other hand ; points which 
would not be of easy investigation. The improvement 
of the blacks in body and mind, in the first instance of 
their mixture with the whites, has been observed by 
every one, and proves that their inferiority is not the 
effect merely of their condition of life. We know 7 that 
among the Romans, about the Augustan age especially, 
the condition of their slaves was much more deplorable 
than that of the blacks on he continent of America. 
The two sexes were confine 1 in separate apartments, 
because to raise a child cost the master more than to 
buy one. Cato, for a very restricted indulgence to his 
slaves in this particular,* took from them a certain price. 
But in this country the slaves multiply as fast as the 
free inhabitants. Their situation and manners place 
the commerce between the two sexes almost without 
restraint. The same Cato, on a principle of oeconomy, 
always sold his sick and superannuated slaves. He 
gives it as a standing precept to a master visiting his 
farm, to sell his old oxen, old wagons, old tools, old and 
diseased servants, and every thing else become useless. 
4 Vendat boves vetulos, plaustrum vetus, fermenta Vete- 
ra, servum senem, servum morbosum, & si quid aliud 
supersit vendat.' Cato de re rustica c. 2. The Ame- 
rican slaves cannot enumerate this among the injuries 
and insults they receive. It was the common practice 
to expose in the island JEsculapius, in the Tyher, dis- 
eased slaves, whose cure was like to become tedious.f 
The emperor Claudius, by an edict, gave freedom to 
such of them as should recover, and first declared that 
if any person chose to kill rather than expose them, it 
should be deemed homicide. The exposing them is a 
crime of which no instance has existed with us: and 
were it to be followed by death, it would be punished 

* Tons doulous etaxen orismencu nomesmatos homilein tais 
therapamsin. Plutarch. Cato. 
' t Suet. Claud. 25. 



149 

capitally. We are told of a certain Vedius Poilio, who, 
in the presence of Augustus, would have given a slave 
as food to his fish, for having broken a glass. With the 
Romans, the regular method of taking the evidence of 
their slaves was tinder torture. Here it has been thought 
better never to resort to their evidence. When a mas- 
ter was murdered, all his slaves, in the same house, or 
within hearing, were condemned to death. Here pu- 
nishment falls on the guilty only, and as precise proof 
is required against him as against a freeman. Yet not- 
withstanding these and other discouraging circumstan- 
ces among the Romans, their slaves were often their 
rarest artists. They excelled too in science, insomuch 
as to be usually employed as tutors to their masters' 
children. Epictetus, Terence, and Phsedrus, were slaves. 
But they were of the race of whites. It is not their 
condition then, but nature, which has produced the dis- 
tinction. Whether further observation will or will not 
verify the conjecture, that nature has been less bounti- 
ful to them in the endowments of the head, I believe 
that in those of the heart she will be found to have done 
them justice. That disposition to theft with which they 
have been branded, must be ascribed to their situation, 
and not to any depravity of the moral sense. The man, 
in whose favour no laws of property exist, probably 
feels himself less bound to respect those made in favour 
of others. When arguing for ourselves, we lay it do wn 
as a fundamental, that laws, to be just, must give a re- 
ciprocation of right ; that, without this, they are mere 
arbitrary rules of conduct, founded in force, and not in 
conscience : and it is a problem which I give to the 
master to solve, whether the religious precepts against 
the violation of property were not framed for him as 
well as his slave ? And whether the slave may not 
as justifiably take a little from one, who has taken all 
from him, as he may slay one who would slay him ? 
That a change in the relations in which a man is placed 
should change his ideas of moral right or wrong, is 
neither new, nor peculiar to the colour of the blacks. 
Homer tells us it was so 2600 years ago. 
13* 



150 



y Emisu, ger f aretes apoaimdai euruopa Zeus 
Haneros, eut 1 an min kota doulion ema elesin. 

Odd. 17, 323. 

Jove fix'd it certain, that whatever day 
Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away. 

But the slaves of which Homer speaks were whites. 
Notwithstanding these considerations which must weak- 
en their respect for the laws of property, we find among 
them numerous instances of the most rigid integrity, 
and as many as among their better instructed masters, 
of benevolence, gratitude and unshaken fidelity. The 
opinion, that they are inferior in the faculties of reason 
and imagination, must be hazarded with great diffi- 
dence. To justify a general conclusion, requires many 
observations, even where the subject may be submitted 
to the anatomical knife, to optical classes, to analysis by 
fire, or by solvents. How much more then where it is 
a facult} 7 , not a substance, we are examining ; where it 
eludes the research of all the senses ; where the condi- 
tions of its existence are various and variously combin- 
ed ; where the effects of those which are present or ab- 
sent bid defiance to calculation ; let me add too, as a 
circumstance of great tenderness, where our conclusion 
would degrade a whole race of men from the rank in 
the scale of beings which their Creator may perhaps 
have given them. To our reproach it must be said, 
that though for a century and a half w T e have had under 
our eyes the races of black and of red men, they have 
never yet been viewed by us as subjects of natural his- 
tory. I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that 
the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made 
distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the 
whites in the endowments both of body and mind. It 
is not against experience to suppose, that different spe- 
cies of the same genus, or varieties of the same spe- 
cies, may possess different qualifications. Will not a 
lover of natural history then, one who views the gra- 
dations in all the races of animals with the eye of phi- 
losophy, excuse an effort to keep those in the depart 



151 



ment of man as distinct as nature has formed them? 
This unfortunate difference of colour, and perhaps of 
faculty, is a powerful obstacle to the emancipation of 
these people. Many of their advocates, whiie they wish 
to vindicate the liberty of human nature are anxious 
also to preserve its dignity and beauty. Some of these, 
embarrassed by the question 4 What further is to be 
done with them?' join themselves in opposition with 
those who are actuated by sordid avarice only. Among 
the Romans emancipation required but one effort. The 
slave, when made free, might mix with, without stain- 
ing the blood of his master. But with us a second is 
necessary, unknown to history. When freed, he is to 
be removed beyond the reach of mixture. 

The revised code further proposes to proportion 
crimes and punishments. This is attempted on the foU 
lowing* scale. 



152 




153 



Pardon and privilege of clergy are proposed to be 
abolished ; but if the verdict be against the defendant, 
the court in their discretion, may allow a new trial. 
No attainder to cause a corruption of blood, or forfeit- 
ure of dower. Slaves guilty of offences punishable in 
others by labour, to be transported to Africa, or else- 
where, as the circumstances of the time admit, there to 
be continued in slavery. A rigorous regimen proposed 
for those condemned to labour. 

Another object of the revisal is, to diffuse knowledge 
more generally through the mass of the people. This 
bill proposes to lay off every county into small districts 
of five or six miles square, called hundreds, and in each 
of them to establish a school for teaching reading, 
writing and arithmetic. The tutor to be supported by 
the hundred, and every person in it entitled to send 
their children three years gratis, and as much longer 
as they please, paying for it. These schools to be un- 
der a visitor, who is annually to choose the boy, of best 
genius in the school, of those whose parents are too 
poor to give them further education, and to send him 
forward to one of the grammar schools, of which twen- 
ty are proposed to be erected in different parts of the 
country, for teaching Greek, Latin, Geography and the 
higher branches of numerical arithmetic. Of the boys 
thus sent in one year, trial is to be made at the gram- 
mar schools one or two years, and the best genius of 
the whole selected, and continued six years, and the re- 
sidue dismissed. By this means twenty of the best 
geniuses will be raked from the rubbish annually, and 
be instructed at the public expense, so far as the gram- 
mar schools go. At the end of six years instruction, 
one half are to be discontinued (from among whom the 
grammar schools will probably be supplied with future 
masters); and the other half, who are to be chosen for 
the superiority of their parts and disposition, are to be 
sent and continued three years in the study of such sci- 
ences as they shall choose, at William and Mary college, 
the plan of which is proposed to be enlarged, as will be 
hereafter explained, and extended to all the useful sci- 



154 



ences. The ultimate result of the whole scheme of 
education would be the teaching all the children of the 
state reading, writing, and common arithmetic: turn- 
ing out ten annually, of superior genius, well taught in 
Greek, Latin, Geography, and the higher branches of 
arithmetic : turning out ten others annually, of still su- 
perior parts, who, to those branches of learning, shall 
have added such of the sciences as their genius shall 
have led them to : the furnishing to the wealthier part 
of the people convenient schools at which their chil- 
dren may be educated at their own expense. The ge- 
neral objects of this law are to provide an education 
adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition 
of every one, and directed to their freedom and happi- 
ness. Specific details were not proper for the law. 
These must be the business of the visitors intrusted 
with its execution. The first stage of this education 
being the schools of the hundreds, wherein the great 
mass of the people will receive their instruction, the 
principal foundations of future order will be laid here. 
Instead therefore of putting the Bible and Testament 
into the hands of the children at an age when their 
judgments are not sufficiently matured for religious en- 
quiries, their memories may here be stored with the 
most useful facts from Grecian, Roman, European and 
American history. — The first elements of morality too 
maybe instilled into their minds; such as, when fur- 
ther developed as their judgments advance in strength, 
may teach them how to work out their own greatest 
happiness, by showing them that it does not depend on 
the condition of life in which chance has placed them, 
but is always the result of a good conscience, good 
health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. 
Those whom either the wealth of their parents or the 
adoption of the state shall destine to higher degrees of 
learning, will go on to the grammar schools, which con- 
stitute the next stage, there to be instructed in the lan- 
guages. The learning Greek and Latin, I am told, is 
going into disuse in Europe. I know not what their 
manners and occupations may call for: but it would be 



155 



very ill-judged in us lo follow their example in this in- 
stance. There is a certain period of life, say from eight 
to fifteen or sixteen years of age, when the mind like 
the body is not yet firm enough for laborious and close 
operations. If applied to such, it falls an early victim 
to premature exertion: exhibiting, indeed, at first, in 
these young and tender subjects, the flattering appear- 
ance of their being men while they are yet children, 
but ending in reducing them to be children when they 
should be men. The memory is then most susceptible 
and tenacious of impressions ; and the learning of lan- 
guages being chiefly a work of memory, it seems pre- 
cisely fitted to the powers of this period, which is long 
enough too for acquiring the most useful languages an- 
cient and modern. I do not pretend that language is 
science. It is only an instrument for the attainment of 
science. But that time is not lost which is employed in 
providing tools for future operation : more especially as 
in this case the books put into the hands of the youth 
for this purpose may be such as will at the same time 
impress their minds with useful facts and good princi- 
ples. If this period be suffered to pass in idleness, the 
mind becomes lethargic and impotent, as would the 
body it inhabits if unexercised during the same time. 
The sympathy between body and mind during their rise, 
progress and decline, is too strict and obvious to endan- 
ger our being missed while we reason from the one to 
the other. As soon as they are of sufficient age, it is 
supposed they will be sent on from the grammar schools 
to the university, which constitutes our third and last 
stage, there to study those sciences which may be adapt- 
ed to their views. By that part of our plan which pre- 
scribes the selection of the youths of genius from among 
the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the state of 
those talents which nature has sown as liberally among 
the poor as the rich, but which perish without use, if not 
sought for and cultivated. But of the views of this law 
none is more important, none more legitimate, than that 
of rendering the people the safe, as they are the ulti- 
mate, guardians of their own liberty. For this purpose 



156 



the reading in the first stage, where they will receive 
their whole education, is proposed, as has been said, to 
be chiefly historical. History by apprising them of the 
past will enable them to judge of the future; it will 
avail them of the experience of other times and other 
nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions 
and designs of men ; it will enable them to know am- 
bition under every disguise it may assume ; and know- 
ing it, to defeat its views. In every government on 
earth is some trace of human weakness, some germ of 
corruption and degeneracy, which cunning will discov- 
er, and wickedness insensibly open, cultivate and im- 
prove. Every government degenerates when trusted 
to the rulers of the people alone. The people them- 
selves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to 
render even them safe, their minds must be improved 
to a certain degree. — This indeed is not all that is ne- 
cessary, though it be essentially necessary. An amend- 
ment of our constitution must here come in aid of the 
public education. The influence over government must 
be shared among all the people. If every individual 
which composes their mass participates of the ultimate 
authority, the government will be safe ; because the 
corrupting the whole mass will exceed any private re- 
sources of wealth : and public ones cannot be provided 
but by levies on the people. In this case every man 
would have to pay his own price. The government of 
Great Britain has been corrupted, because but one man 
in ten has a right to vote for members of parliament. 
The sellers of the government therefore get nine-tenths 
of their price clear. It has been thought that corrup- 
tion is restrained by confining the right of suffrage to a 
few of the wealthier of the people : but it would be 
more effectually restrained by an extension of that right 
to such numbers as would bid defiance to the means of 
corruption. 

Lastty, it is proposed, by a bill in this revisal, to be- 
gin a public library and gallery, by laying out a certain 
sum annually in books, paintings, and statues. 



157 



QUERY XV. 

The colleges and public establishments, the roads, 
buildings, &c ? 

The college of Wiliiam and Mary is the only public 
seminary of learning in this state. It was founded in the 
time of king William and Queen Mary, who granted to it 
20,000 acres of land, and a penny a pound duty on certain 
tobaccoes exported from Virginia and Maryland, which 
had been levied by the statute of 25 Car. II. The as- 
sembly also gave it, by temporary laws, a duty on li- 
quors imported, and skins and furs exported. From 
these resources it received upwards of 3000/ communi- 
bus annis. The buildings are of brick, sufficient for an 
indifferent accommodation of perhaps an hundred stu- 
dents. By its charter it was to be under the govern- 
ment of twenty visitors, who were to be its legislators, 
and to have a president and six professors, who were 
incorporated. It was allowed a representative in the 
general assembly. Under this charter, a professorship 
of the Greek and Latin languages, a professorship of 
mathematics, one of moral philosophy, and two of di- 
vinity were established. To these were annexed, for a 
sixth professorship, a considerable donation by Mr 
Boyle of England, for the instruction of the Indians, 
and their conversion to Christianity. This was called 
the professorship of Brafferton, from an estate of that 
name in England, purchased with the moneys given. 
The admission of the learners of Latin and Greek filled 
the college with children. This rendering it disagree- 
able and degrading to young gentlemen already prepar- 
ed for entering on the sciences, they were discouraged 
from resorting to it, and thus the schools for mathemat- 
ics and moral philosophy, which might have been of 
some service, became of very little. The revenues too 
were exhausted in accommodating those who came on- 
ly to acquire the rudiments of science. — After the pre- 
sent revolution, the visitors, having no power to change 
those circumstances in the continuation of the college 
14 



158 



which was fixed by the charter, and being therefore 
confined in the number of professorships, undertook to 
change the objects of the professorships. They exclud- 
ed the two schools for divinity, and that for the Greek 
and Latin languages, and substituted others ; so that at 
present they stand thus : 

A Professorship for Law and Police ; 
Anatomy and Medicine: 
Natural Philosophy and Mathematics : 
Moral Philosophy, the Law of Nature and Na- 
tions, the Fine Arts: 
Modern Languages : 
For the BrafFerton. 

And it is proposed, so soon as the legislature shall 
have leisure to take up this subject, to desire authority 
from them to increase the number of professorships, as 
well for the purpose of subdividing those already insti- 
tuted, as of adding others for other branches of science. 
To the professorships usually established in the uni- 
versities of Europe, it would seem proper to add one 
for the ancient languages and literature of the North, 
on the account of their connexion with our own lan- 
guage, laws, customs, and history. The purposes of 
the BrafFerton institution would be better answered by 
maintaining a perpetual mission among the Indian 
tribes, the object of which, besides instructing them in 
the principles of Christianity, as the founder requires, 
should be to collect their traditions, laws, customs, lan- 
guages, and other circumstances which might lead to 
a discovery of their relation with one another, or de- 
scent from other nations. When these objects are ac- 
complished with one tribe, missionary might pass on 
to another. 

The roads are under the government of the county 
courts, subject to be controlled by the general court. 
They order new roads to be opened wherever they 
think them necessary. The inhabitants of the county 
are by them laid oft into precincts, to each of which 



159 



they allot a convenient portion of the public roads to 
be kept in repair. Such bridges as may be built with- 
out the assistance of artificers, they are to build. If 
the stream be such as to require a bridge of regular 
workmanship, the court employs workmen to build it, 
at the expense of the whole county. If it be too great 
for the county, application is made to the general as- 
sembly, who authorise individuals to build it, and to take 
a fixed toll from all passengers, or give sanction to such 
other proposition as to them appears reasonable. 

Ferries are admitted only at such places as are par- 
ticularly pointed out by law, and the rates of ferriage 
are fixed. 

Taverns are licensed by the courts, who fix their 
rates from time to time. 

The private buildings are very rarely constructed of 
stone or brick ; much the greatest portion being of 
scantling and boards, plastered with lime. It is impos- 
sible to devise things more ugly, uncomfortable, and hap- 
pily more perishable. There are two or three plans, 
on one of which, according to its size, most of the 
houses in the state are built. The poorest people build 
huts of logs, laid horizontally in pens, stopping the in- 
terstices with mud. These are warmer in winter, and 
cooler in summer, than the more expensive construction 
of scantling and plank. The wealthy are attentive to 
the raising of vegetables, but very little so to fruits. 
The poorer people attend to neither, living principally 
on milk and animal diet. This is the more inexcusable, 
as the climate requires indispensably a free use of veg- 
etable food, for health as well as comfort, and is very 
friendly to the raising of fruits. The only public build- 
ings worthy mention are the capital, the palace, the 
eollege, and the hospital for lunatics, all of them in Wil- 
liams burgh, heretofore the seat of our government. The 
capital is a light and airy structure, with a portico in front 
of two orders, the lower of which, being Doric, is 
tolerably just in its proportions and ornaments, save 
only that the intercolonations are too large. The up- 



160 



per is Ionic, much too small for that on which it is 
mounted, its ornaments not proper to the order, nor 
proportioned within themselves. It is crowned with a 
pediment, which is too high for its span. Yet, on the 
whole, it is the most pleasing piece of architecture we 
have. The palace is not handsome without : but it is 
spacious and commodious within, is prettily situated, 
and with the grounds annexed to it, is capable of being 
made an elegant seat. The college and hospital are 
rude, misshapen piles, which, but that they have roofs, 
would be taken for brick-kilns. There are no other 
public buildings but churches and court houses, in 
which no attempts are made at elegance. Indeed it 
would not be easy to execute such an attempt, as a 
workman could scarcely be found capable of drawing 
an order. The genius of architecture seems to have 
shed its maledictions over this land. Buildings are 
often erected, by individuals, of considerable expense. 
To give these symmetry and taste would not increase 
their cost. — It would only change the arrangement of 
the materials, the form and combination of the mem- 
bers. — This would often cost less than the burthen of 
barbarous ornaments with which these buildings are 
sometimes charged. But the first principles of the art 
are unknown, and there exists scarcely a model among 
us sufficiently chaste to give an idea of them. Archi- 
tecture being one of the fine arts, and as such within 
the department of a professor of the college, according 
to the new arrangement, perhaps a spark may fall on 
some young subjects of natural taste, kindle up their 
genius, and produce a reformation in this elegant and 
useful art. But all we shall do in this way will pro- 
duce no permanent improvement to our country, while 
the unhappy prejudice prevails that houses of brick or 
stone are less wholesome than those of wood. A dew 
is often observed on the walls of the former in rainy 
weather, and the most obvious solution is, that the rain 
has penetrated through these walls. The following 
facts, however, are sufficient to prove the error of this 
solution. — 1. This dew upon the walls appears when 



161 

there is no rain, if the state of the atmosphere be moist 
*2. It appears on .the partition as well as the exterior 
walls. 3. So also on pavements of brick or stone. 
4. It is more copious in proportion as the walls are 
thicker; the reverse of which ought to be the case, if 
this hypothesis were just. If cold water be poured in- 
to a vessel of stone, or glass, a dew forms instantly on 
the outside: but if it be poured into a vessel of wood, 
there is no such appearance. It is not supposed, in the 
first case, that the water has exuded through the glass, 
but that it is precipitated from the circumambient air; 
as the humid particles of vapour, passing from the boil- 
er of an alembic through its refrigerant, are precipi- 
tated from the air, in which they are suspended, on the 
internal surface of the refrigerant. — Walls of brick or 
stone act as the refrigerant in this instance. They are 
sufficiently cold to condense and precipitate the mois- 
ture suspended in the air of the room, when it is heavi- 
ly charged therewith. But walls of wood are not so. 
The question then is, whether air in which this mois- 
ture is left floating, or that which is deprived of it, be 
most wholesome ? In both cases the remedy is easy. 
A little fire kindled in the room, whenever the air is 
damp, prevents the precipitation on the walls: and this 
practice, found healthy in the warmest as well as cold- 
est seasons is as necessary in a wooden as in a stone 
or brick house. I do not mean to say, that the rain 
never penetrates through walls of brick. On the con- 
trary I have seen instances of it. But with us it is only 
through the northern and eastern walls of the house, 
after a north-easterly storm, these being the only ones 
which continue long enough to force through the walls. 
— This however happens too rarely to give a just cha- 
racter of unwholesomeness to such houses. In a house, 
the walls of which are of well burnt brick and good 
mortar, I have seen the rain penetrate through but 
twice in a dozen or fifteen years. The inhabitants of 
Europe who dwell chiefly in houses of stone or brick, 
are surely as healthy as those of Virginia. These 
houses have the advantage too of being warmer in 
14* 



162 



winter and cooler in summer than those of wood; of 
being cheaper in their first construction, where lime is 
convenient, and infinitely more durable. The latter 
consideration renders it of great importance to eradi- 
cate this prejudice from the minds of our countrymen* 
A country whose buildings are of wood, can never in- 
crease in its improvements to any considerable degree. 
Their duration is highly estimated at 50 years. Every 
half century then our country becomes a tabula rasa, 
whereon we have to set out anew, as in the first mo- 
ment of seating it. Whereas when buildings are of 
durable materials, every new edifice is an actual and 
permanent acquisition to the state, adding to its value 
as well as to its ornament. 



QUERY XVI. 

The measures taken with regard to the estates and 
possessions of the rebels, commonly called tories? 

A lory has been properly defined to be a traitor in 
thought but not in deed. The only description, by 
which the laws have endeavoured to come at them, was 
that of nonjurors, or persons refusing to take the oath 
of fidelity to the state. Persons of this description 
Were at one time subjected to double taxation, at an- 
other to treble, and lastly were allowed retribution, and 
placed on a level with good citizens. It may be men- 
tioned as a proof both of the lenity of our government, 
and unanimity of its inhabitants, that though this war 
has now raged near seven years, not a single execution 
for treason has taken place. 

Under this query I will state the measures which 
have been adopted as to British property, the owners of 
which stand on a much fairer footing than the tories. 
By our laws, the same as the English in this respect, 
no alien can hold lands, nor alien enemy maintain an 
action for money, or other moveable thing. Lands ac- 
quired or held by aliens become forfeited to the state \ 



163 



and, on an action by an alien enemy to recover money, 
or other moveable property, the defendant may plead 
that he is an alien enemy. This extinguishes his right 
in the hands of the debtor or holder of his moveable 
property. By our separation from Great Britain, Bri- 
tish subjects became aliens, and being at war, they 
were alien enemies. Their lands were of course for- 
feited, and their debts irrecoverable. The assembly 
however passed laws, at various times, for saving their 
property. They first sequestered their lands, slaves, 
and other property on their farms in the hands of com- 
missioners, who were mostly the confidential friends or 
agents of the owners, and directed their clear profits to 
be paid into the treasury: and they gave leave to all 
persons owing debts to British subjects to pay them 
also into the treasury, The moneys so to be brought 
in were declared to remain the property of the British 
subject, and, if used by the state, were to be repaid, 
unless an improper conduct in Great Britain should 
render a detention of it reasonable. Depreciation had 
at that time, though unacknowledged and unperceived 
by the whigs, began in some small degree. Great sums 
of money were paid in by debtors. At a later period, 
the assembly, adhering to the political principles which 
forbid an alien to hold lands in the state ; ordered all 
British property to be sold : and, become sensible of the 
real progress of depreciation, and of the losses which 
would thence occur, if not guarded against, they order- 
ed that the proceeds of the sales should be converted 
Into their then worth in tobacco, subject to the future 
direction of the legislature. This act has left the 
question of retribution more problematical. In May 
1780, another act took away the permission to pay into 
the public treasury debts due to British subjects. 



164 



QUERY XVII. 

The different religions received into that state? 

The first settlers in this country were emigrants from 
England, of the English church, just at a point of time 
when it was flushed with complete victory over the 
religious of all other persuasions. Possessed, as they 
became, of the powers of making, administering, and 
executing the laws, they showed equal intolerance in 
this country with the Presbyterian brethren, who had 
emigrated to the northern government. The poor 
Quakers were flying from persecution in England. 
They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums 
of civil and religious freedom ; but they found them 
free only for the reigning sect. Several acts of the 
Virginia assembly of 1659, 1662 and 1693, had made it 
penal in parents to refuse to have their children bap- 
tized ; had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Qua- 
kers ; had made it penal for any master of a vessel to 
bring a Quaker into the state; had ordered those al- 
ready here, and such as should come thereafter, to be 
imprisoned till they should abjure the country ; pro- 
vided a milder punishment for their first and second 
return, but death for their third; had inhibited all per- 
sons from suffering their meetings in or near their 
houses, entertaining them individually, or disposing of 
books which supported their tenets. If no execution 
took place here, as did in New-England, it was not 
owing to the moderation of the church, or spirit of the 
legislature, as may be inferred from the law itself; but 
to historical circumstances which have not been handed 
down to us. The Anglicans retained full possession of 
the country about a century. Other opinions began 
then to creep in, and the great care of the government 
to support their own church, having begotten an equal 
degree of indolence in its clergy, two thirds of the peo- 
ple had become dissenters at the commencement of 
the present revolution. The laws indeed were still 
oppressive on them, but the spirit of the one party 



165 



had subsided into moderation, and of the other had 

risen to a degree of determination which commanded 
respect. 

The present state of our laws on the subject of re- 
ligion is this. The convention of May 1776, in their 
declaration of rights, declared it to be a truth, and a 
natural right, that the exercise of religion should be 
free ; but when they proceeded to form on that de- 
claration the ordinance of government, instead of tak- 
ing up every principle declared in the bill of rights, 
and guarding it by legislative sanction, they passed 
over that which asserted our religious rights, leaving 
thpm as they found them. The same convention, how- 
ever, when they met as a member of the general as- 
sembly in October 1776, repealed all acts of parliament 
which had rendered criminal the maintaining any opi- 
nions in matters of religion, the forbearing to repair to 
church, and the exercising any mode of worship ; and 
suspended the laws giving salaries to the clergy, which 
suspension was made perpetual in October 1779. Sta- 
tutory oppressions in religion being thus wiped away, 
we remain at present under those only imposed by the 
common law, or by our own acts of assembly. At the 
common law, heresy was a capital offence, punishable 
by burning. Its definition was left to the ecclesiasti- 
cal judges, before whom the conviction was, till the 
statute of the i El. c. 1. circumscribed it, by declaring, 
that nothing should be deemed heresy, but what had 
been so determined by authority of the canonical scrip- 
tures, or by one of the four first general councils, or by 
other council having for the grounds of their declara- 
tion the express and plain words of the scriptures. 
Heresy, thus circumscribed, being an offence at the 
common law, our act of assembly of October 1777, c. 
17. gives cognizance of it to the general court, by de- 
claring, that the jurisdiction of that court shall be ge- 
neral in all matters at the common law. The execu- 
tion is by the w r rit De h&retico comburendo. By our 
own act of assembly of 1705, c. 30. if a person brought 
up in the Christian religion denies the being of a God, or 



166 



the Trinity, or asserts there are more gods than one, 
or denies the Christian religion to be true, or the scrip- 
tures to be of divine authority, he is punishable on the 
first offence by incapacity to hold any office or em- 
ployment ecclesiastical, civil, or military ; on the se- 
cond by disability to sue, to take any gift or legacy, to 
be guardian, executor, or administrator, and by three 
years imprisonment without bail. A father's right to 
the custody of his own children being founded in law 
on his right of guardianship, this being taken away, 
they may of course be severed from him, and put by 
the authority of a court, into more orthodox hands. 
This is a summary view of that religious slavery, un- 
der which a people have been willing to remain, who 
have lavished their lives and fortunes for the establish- 
ment of their civil freedom.* The error seems not 
sufficiently eradicated, that the operations of the mind, 
as well as the acts of the body, are subject to the coer- 
cion of the laws. — But our rulers can have no authority 
over such natural rights, only as we have submitted to 
them. — The rights of conscience we never submitted, 
we could not submit. We are answerable for them to 
our God. The legitimate powers of government ex- 
tend to such acts only as are injurious to others. — But 
it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 
twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket 
nor breaks my leg. If it be said, his testimony in a 
court of justice cannot be relied on, reject it then, and 
be the stigma on him. Constraint may make him 
worse by making him a hypocrite, but it will never 
make him a truer man. It may fix him obstinately in 
his errors, but will not cure them. Reason and free 
enquiry are the only effectual agents against error. 
Give a loose to them, they will support the true reli- 
gion, by bringing every false one to their tribunal, to 
the test of their investigation. — They are the natural 
enemies of error, and of error only. Had not the Ro- 
man government permitted free enquiry, Christianity 



* Fumeaux passim. 



167 



could never have been introduced. Had not free en- 
quiry been indulged at the eera of the reformation, the 
corruptions of Christianity could not have been purg- 
ed away. If it be restrained now, the present cor- 
ruptions will be protected and new ones encouraged. 
Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine 
and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our 
souls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once 
forbidden as a medicine, and the potato as an article 
of food. Government is just as infallible too when it 
fixes systems in physics. Galileo was sent to the In- 
quisition for affirming that the earth was a sphere : the 
government had declared it to be as flat as a trencher, 
and Galileo was obliged to abjure his error. This er- 
ror however at length prevailed, the earth became a 
globe, and Descartes declared it was whirled round 
its axis by a vortex. The government in which he 
lived was wise enough to see that this was no ques- 
tion of civil jurisdiction, or we should all have been 
involved by authority in vortices. In fact, the vorti- 
ces have been exploded, and the Newtonian principle 
of gravitation is now more firmly established, on the 
basis of reason, than it would be were the govern- 
ment to step in, and to make it an article of necessary 
faith. Reason and experiment have been indulged, 
and error has fled before them. It is error alone 
which needs the support of government. Truth can 
stand by itself. Subject opinion to coercion: whom 
will you make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men 
governed by bad passions, by private as well as public 
reasons. And why subject it to coercion ? To produce 
uniformity. But is uniformity of opinion desirable ? 
No more than of face and stature. Introduce the bed 
of Procrustes, then, and as there is danger that the 
large men may heat the small, make us all of a size, 
by lopping the former and stretching the latter. Dif- 
ference of opinio $ is advantageous in religion. The 
several sects perform the office of a censor morum over 
each other. Is uniformity attainable ? Millions of in- 
nocent men, women, and children, since the introduc- 



168 



tion of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, 
imprisoned ; yet we have not advanced one inch to- 
wards uniformity. What has been the effect of coer- 
cion ? To make one half the world fools, and the ether 
half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all 
over the earth. Let us reflect that it is inhabited by 
a thousand millions of people. That these profess 
probably a thousand different systems of religion. That 
ours is but one of that thousand. That if there be but 
one right, and ours that one, we should wish to see the 
999 wandering sects gathered into the fold of truth. 
But against such a majority we cannot effect this by 
force. Reason and persuasion are the only practicable 
instruments. To make way for these, free enquiry 
must be indulged ; and how can we wish others to en- 
dulge it while we refuse it ourselves. But every state, 
says an inquisitor, has established some religion. No 
two, say I, have established the same. Is this a proof 
of the infallibility of establishments ? Our sister states 
of Pennsylvania and New-York, however, have long 
subsisted without any establishment at all. The ex- 
periment was new and doubtful when they made it. 
It has answered beyond conception. — They flourish 
infinitely. Religion is well supported ; of various kinds, 
indeed, but all good enough ; all sufficient to preserve 
peace and order: or if a sect arises, whose tenets would 
subvert morals, good sense has fair play, and reasons 
and laughs it out of doors, without suffering the state 
to be troubled with it. — They do not hang more male- 
factors than we do. — They are not more disturbed with 
religious dissensions than we are. On the contrary, their 
harmony is unparalleled, and can be ascribed to no- 
thing but their unbounded tolerance, because there is no 
other circumstance in which they differ from every 
nation on earth. — They have made the happy disco- 
very, that the way to silence religious disputes, is to 
take no notice of them. Let us too give this experi- 
ment fair play, and get rid, while we may, of those 
tyrannical laws. It is true, we are as yet secured 
against them by the spirit of the times. I doubt whe- 



169 



ther the people of this country would suffer an execu- 
tion for heresy, or a three years imprisonment for not 
comprehending the mysteries of the Trinity. But is 
the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent re- 
liance? Is it government ? Is this the kind of protec- 
tion we receive in return for the rights we give up? 
Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. 
Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. 
A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better 
men be his victims, it can never be too often repeat- 
ed, that the time for fixing every essential right on a 
legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves 
united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be 
going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort 
every moment to the people for support. They will 
be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. 
They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of 
making money, and will never think of uniting to effect 
a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, 
which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this 
war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and 
heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a con- 
vulsion. 



QUERY XVIII. 

The particular customs and manners that may hap- 
pen to be received in that state ? 

It is difficult to determine on the standard by which 
the manners of a nation may be tried, whether catholic? 
or particular. It is more difficult for a native to bring to 
that standard the manners of his own nation, familiar- 
ized to him by habit. There must doubtless be an un- 
happy influence on the manners of our people produced 
by the existence of slavery among us. The whole com- 
merce between master and slave is vC perpetual exer- 
cise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremit- 
15 



170 



ting despotism on the one part, and degrading submis- 
sions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to 
imitate it ; for man is an imitative animal. This quali- 
ty is the germ of all education in him. From his cradle 
to his grave he is learning to do what he sees others do. 
If a parent could find no motive either in his philan- 
thropy or his self love, for restraining the intemperance 
of passion towards his slave, it should alwaj^s be a suf- 
ficient one that his child is present. But generally it is 
not sufficient. The parent storms, the child looks on, 
catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the same airs 
in the circle of smaller slaves, gives a loose to the worst 
of passions, and thus nursed, educated, and daily exer- 
cised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it with 
odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who 
can retain his manners and morals undepraved by such 
circumstances. And with what execration should the 
statesman be loaded, who permitting one half the citi- 
zens thus to trample on the rights of the other, trans- 
forms those into despots, and these into enemies, des- 
troys the morals of the one part, and the amor patriae 
of the other. For if a slave can have a country in this 
world, it must be any other in preference to that in 
which he is born to lWe and labour for another; in 
which he must iock up the faculties of his nature, con- 
tribute as far as depends on his individual endeavours 
to the evanishment of the human race, or entail his 
own miserable condition on the endless generations 
proceeding from him. With the morals of the people, 
their industry also is destroyed. For in a warm cli- 
mate, no man will labour for himself who can make 
another labour for him. This is so true, that of the 
proprietors of slaves a very small proportion indeed are 
ever seen to labour. And can the liberties of a nation 
be thought secure when we have removed their only 
firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that 
these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are 
not to be violated but with his wrath ? Indeed I trem- 
ble for my country when I reflect that God i-s just : that 
his justice cannot sleep forever: that considering num- 



171 



bers, nature and natural means only, a revolution of 
the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation is among 
possible events : that it may become probable by su- 
pernatural interference ! The almighty has no attri- 
bute which can take side with us in such a contest. — • 
But it is impossible to be temperate and to pursue this 
subject through the various considerations of policy, 
of morals, of history natural and civil. We must be 
contented to hope they will force their way into every 
one's mind. I think a change already perceptible, since 
the origin of the present revolution. The spirit of the 
master is abating, that of the slave rising from the dust, 
his condition mollifying, the way I hope preparing, un- 
der the auspices of heaven, for a total emancipation, 
and that this is disposed, in the order of events, to be 
with the consent of the masters, rather than by their 
extirpation, 



QUERY XIX. 

The present state of manufactures, commerce, inte- 
rior and exterior trade ? 

We never had an interior trade of any importance. 
Our exterior commerce has suffered very much from 
the beginning of the present contest. During this time 
we have manufactured within our families the most 
necessary articles of clothing. Those of cotton will 
bear some comparison with the same kinds of manu- 
facture in Europe; but those of wool, flax and hemp 
are very coarse, unsightly, and unpleasant : and such 
is our attachment to agriculture, and such our prefer- 
ence for foreign manufactures, that be it wise or un- 
wise, our people will certainly return as soon as they 
can, to the raising raw materials, and exchanging them 
for finer manufactures than they are able to execute 
themselves. 

The political csconomists of Europe have established 
it as a principle that every state should endeavour to ma- 



172 



nufacture for itself : and this principle, like many others, 
we transfer to America, without calculating the differ- 
ence of circumstance which should often produce a dif- 
ference of result. In Europe the lands are either cul- 
tivated, or locked up against the cultivator. Manufac- 
ture must therefore be resorted to of necessity not of 
choice, to support the surplus of their people. But w 7 e 
have an immensity of land courting the industry of the 
husbandman. Is it best then that all our citizens 
should be employed in its improvement, or that one 
half should be called off from that to exercise manufac- 
tures and handicraft arts for the other? Those who 
labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if 
ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has 
made his peculiar deposite for substantial and genuine 
virtue. It is the focus in which he keeps alive that 
sacred fire, which otherwise might escape lrom the 
face of the earth. Corruption of morals in the mass of 
cultivators is a phenomenon of which no age nor na- 
tion has furnished an example. It is the mark set on 
those, who not looking up to heaven, to their own soil 
and industry, as does the husbandman, for their sub- 
sistence, depend for it on casualties and caprice of cus- 
tomers. Dependence begets subservience and venality, 
suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for 
the designs of ambition. This, the natural progress 
and consequence of the arts, has sometimes perhaps 
been retarded by accidental circumstances : but, gene- 
rally speaking, the proportion which the aggregate of 
the other classes of citizens bears in any state to that of 
its husbandmen, is the proportion of its unsound to its 
healthy parts, and is a good enough barometer where- 
by to measure its degree of corruption. While we 
have land to labour then, let us never wish to see our 
citizens occupied at a work-bench, or twirling a distaff. 
Carpenters, masons, smiths, are wanting in husbandry: 
but, for the general operations of manufacture, let our 
workshops remain in Europe. It is better to carry 
provisions and materials to workmen there, than bring 
them to the provisions and materials, and with them 



m 

their manners and principles. The loss by the trans- 
portation of commodities across the Atlantic will be 
made up in happiness and permanence of government. 
The mobs of great cities add just so much to the sup- 
port of pure government, as sores do to the strength of 
the human body. It is the manners and spirit of a 
people which preserve a republic in vigour. A degen- 
eracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart 
of its laws and constitution. 



QUERY XX. 

A Notice of the commercial productions particular 
to the state, and of those objects which the inhabitants 
are obliged to get from Europe and from other parts of 
the world ? 

Before the present war we exported, communibus 
annis, according to the best information I can get, near- 
ly as follows : — 



15* 



174 




175 



In the year 1758 we exported seventy thousand 
hogsheads of tobacco, which was the greatest quantity 
ever produced in this country in one year. But its 
culture was fast declining at the commencement of this 
war and that of wheat taking its place: and it must 
continue to decline on the return of peace. I suspect 
that the change in the temperature of our climate has 
become sensible to that plant, which, to be good, re- 
quires no extraordinary degree of heat. — But it requires 
still more indispensably an uncommon fertility of soil : 
and the price which it commands at market will not 
enable the planter to produce this by manure. Was 
the supply still to depend on Virginia and Maryland 
alone as its culture becomes more difficult, the price 
would rise, so as to enable the planter to surmount 
those difficulties and to live. — But the western country 
on the Mississippi, and the Midlands of Georgia, having 
fresh and fertile lands in abundance, and a hotter sun, 
will be able to undersell these two states, and will 
oblige them to abandon the raising tobacco altogether. 
And a happy obligation for them it will be. It is a cul- 
ture productive of infinite wretchedness. Those em- 
ployed in it are in a continual state of exertion beyond 
the power of nature to support. Little food of any kind 
is raised by them ; so that the men and animals on 
these farms are badly fed, and the earth is rapidly im- 
poverished. The cultivation of wheat is the reverse in 
every circumstance. Besides clothing the earth with 
herbage, and preserving its fertility, it feeds the la- 
bourers plentifully, requires from them only a moderate 
toil, except in the season of harvest, raises great numbers 
of animals for food and service, and diffuses plenty and 
happiness among the whole. We find it easier to make 
an hundred bushels of wheat than a thousand weight 
of tobacco, and they are worth more when made. The 
weavil indeed is a formidable obstacle to the cultiva- 
tion of this grain with us. But principles are already 
known which must lead to a remedy. Thus a certain 
degree of heat, to wit, that of the common air in sum- 
mer, is necessary to hatch the egg. If subterranean 



176 



granaries, or others, therefore, can be contrived below 
that temperature, the evil will be cured by cold. A de- 
gree of heat beyond that which hatches the egg we 
know will kill it. But in aiming at this we easily run 
into that which produces putrefaction. To produce 
putrefaction, however, three agents are requisite, heat, 
moisture, and the external air. If the absence of any 
one of these be secured, the other two may safely be 
admitted. Heat is the one we want. Moisture then, 
or externa] air, must be excluded. — The former has 
been done by exposing the grain in kilns to the action 
of fire, which produces heat, and extracts moisture at 
the same time : the latter, by putting the grain into 
hogsheads covering it with a coat of lime, and heading 
it up. In this situation its bulk produced a heat suffi- 
cient to kill the egg ; the moisture is suffered to remain 
indeed, but the external air is excluded. A nicer ope- 
ration yet has been attempted ; that is, to produce an 
intermediate temperature of heat between that which 
kills the egg, and that which produces putrefaction. 
The threshing the grain as soon as it is cut, and laying 
it in its chaff in large heaps, has been found very near- 
ly to hit this temperature, though not perfectly, nor al- 
ways. The heap generates heat, sufficient to kill most 
of the eggs, whilst the chaff commonly restrains it from 
rising into putrefaction. But all these methods abridge 
too much the quantity which the farmer can manage, 
and enable other countries to undersell him which are 
not infested with this insect. — There is still a desidera- 
tum then to give with us decisive triumph to this branch 
of agriculture over that of tobacco. The culture of 
wheat, by enlarging our pasture, will render the Ara- 
bian horse an article of very considerable profit. Ex- 
perience has shown that ours is the particular climate 
of America where he may be raised without degenera- 
cy. Southwardly the heat of the sun occasions a defi- 
ciency of pasture, and northwardly the winters are too 
cold for the short and fine hair, the particular sensibili- 
ty and constitution of that race. Animals transplanted 
into unfriendly climates, either change their nature and 



177 



acquire new fences against the new difficulties in which 
they are placed, or they multiply poorly and become 
extinct. A good foundation is laid for their propaga- 
tion here by our possessing already great numbers of 
horses of that blood, and by a decided taste and prefer- 
ence for them established among the people. — Their 
patience of heat without injury, their superior wind, fit 
them better in this and the more southern climates 
even for the drudgeries of the plough and wagon. 
Northwardly they will become an object only to persons 
of taste and fortune, for the saddle and light carriages. 
To those, and for these uses, their fleetness and beauty 
will recommend them. — Besides these there will be 
other valuable substitutes when the cultivation of to- 
bacco shall be discontinued, such as cotton in the east- 
ern parts of the state, and hemp and flax in the west- 
ern. 

It is not easy to say what are the articles either of 
necessity, comfort, or luxury, which we cannot raise, 
and which we therefore shall be under a necessity of im- 
porting from abroad, as every thing hardier than the olive, 
and as hardy as the fig, may be raised here in the open 
air. Sugar, coffee and tea, indeed, are not between 
these limits ; and habit having placed them among the 
necessaries of life with the wealthy part of our citizens, 
as long as these habits remain we must go for them to 
those countries which are able to furnish them. 



QUERY XXI. 

The weights, measures, and the currency of the hard 
money ? Some details relating to exchange with Eu- 
rope ? 

Our weights and measures are the same which are 
fixed by acts of parliament in England. How it has 
happened that in this as well as the other American 
states the nominal value of coin, was made to differ 
from what it was in the country we had left, and to 



178 



differ among ourselves too, I am not able to say with 
certainty. I find that in 1631 our house of burgesses 
desired of the privy council in England, a coin debased 
to twenty-five per-cent : that in 1645 they forbid deal- 
ing by barter for tobacco, and established the Spanish 
piece of eight at six shillings, as the standard of their 
currency : that in 1655 they changed it to five shillings 
sterling. In 1680 they sent an address to the king, in 
consequence of which, by proclamation in 1683, he fix- 
ed the value of French crowns, rix dollars, and pieces 
of eight at six shillings, and the coin of New-England 
at one shilling. That in 1710, 1/14. 1727, and J 762, other 
regulations were made, which will be better presented 
to the eye stated in the form of a table as follows: 



179 



CO 



'CO 
so 



CO 

cp 



H3 



^ CO 



CO 



o 

'xn 
HZ 



^3 
CO 



o 



u 


'3 




.s 




ev- 




2 1 




>^ 




X 














£ 


is 1 

DC 


CP 


i 


i 


xico 




c 
5 


>» 


a 


cp 




S3 ^ 


© 




cp 





CO 



^3 
CO 



in O 

O Ch 

s o 



o 



a) o 



2- ca S *j 

, g ^ <! c o - 

^35 ct> U CO c . © cp 

.S "-2 "C JC O g bjD gg O — 

g .rt a? u 'J c cp ~ 



m 

* S ? 

CP 



s -5 

CP o 
CD 



72 



^ GO 

in 3 

0) o 
a? 

p3H > 



S CO •« jn 



CP K3 3 ,2 



5 2 
O 



The first symptom of the depreciation of our present 
paper money, was that of silver dollars selling at six 



180 



shillings, which had bafore been worth but five shil- 
lings and nine-pence. The assembly thereupon raised 
them by law to six shillings. As the dollar is now iike- 
]y to become the money-unit of America, as it passes at 
this rate in some of our sister states, and as it facilitates 
their computation in pounds and shillings, &c. eonvei so, 
this seems to be more convenient than its former de- 
nomination. But as this particular coin now stands 
higher than any other in the proportion of 133 1-3 to 
125, or 16 to 15, it will be necessary to raise the others 
in proportion. 



QUERY XXII. 

The public income and expenses ? 

The nominal amount of these varying constantly and 
rapidly with the constant and rapid depreciation of our 
paper money, it becomes impracticable to say what 
they are. VVe find ourselves cheated in every essay by 
the depreciation intervening between the declaration 
of the tax and its actual receipt. It will therefore be 
piore satisfactory to consider what our income may be 
when we shall find means of collecting what our people 
jnay spare. I should estimate the whole taxable pro- 
perty of this state at an hundred millions of dollars, or 
thirty millions of pounds our money. One per cent, on 
this, compared with any thing we ever yet paid, would 
be deemed a very heavy tax. Yet I think that those 
who manage well, and use reasonable economy, couid 
pay one- and an half per cent, and maintain their house- 
hold comfortably in the mean time, without aliening 
any part of their principal, and that the people would 
submit to this willingly for the purpose of supporting 
their present contest. We may say then, that we could 
raise, and ought to raise, from one million to one million 
and an half of dollars annually, that is from three hun- 
dred to four hundred and fifty thousand pounds, Virgi- 
nia money. 



181 



Of our expenses it is equally difficult to give an exact 
state, and for the same reason. They are mostly stated 
in paper money, which varying continually, the legis- 
lature endeavours at every session, by new corrections, 
to adapt the nominal sums to the value it is wished 
they would bear. I will state them therefore in real 
coin, at the point at which they endeavour to keep 
them. 

Dollars. 

The annual expenses of the general assembly 

are about 20,000 
The governor 3,3331 
The council of state 10,666| 
Their clerks 1,1 66| 

Eleven judges 11,000 
The clerk of the chancery 666| 
The attorney general 1,000 
Three auditors and a solicitor 5,3331 
Their clerks 2,000 
The treasurer 2,000 
His clerks 2,000 
The keeper of the public jail 1,000 
The public printer 1,666J 
Clerks of the inferior courts 43,3331 
Public levy : this is chiefly for the expenses of 

criminal justice 40,000 
County levy, for bridges, court-houses, prisons, 

&c. 40,000 
Members of Congress 7,000 
Quota of the federal civil list, supposed one sixth 

of about 78,000 dollars 13,000 
Expenses of collecting, six per cent on the 

above 12,310 
The clergy receive only voluntary contributions: 

suppose them on an average one eighth of a 

dollar a tythe on 200,000 tythes 25,000 
Contingencies, to make round numbers not far 

from truth 7,5231 



16 



250,000 



182 



Dollars, or 53,571 guineas. This estimate is exclusive 
of the military expense. That varies with 5 the force 
actually employed, and in time of peace will probably 
be little or nothing. It is exclusive also of the public 
debts, which are growing while I am writing, and can- 
not therefore be now fixed. So it is of the maintenance 
of the pooi', which being merely a matter of charity 
cannot be deemed expended in the administration of 
government. And if we strike cut the 25,000 dollars 
for the services of the clergy, which neither makes part 
of that administration, more than what is paid to phy- 
sicians, or lawyers, and being voluntary, is either much 
or nothing as every one pleases, it leaves 225,000 dol- 
lars, equal to 48,208 guineas, the real cost of the appa- 
ratus of government with us. This divided among the 
actual inhabitants of our country, comes to about two 
fifths of a dollar, 2id. sterling, or 42 sols, the price 
which each pays annually for the protection of the resi- 
due of his property, and the other advantages of a free 
government. The public revenues of Great Britain 
divided in like manner on its inhabitants would be 16 
times greater. Deducting even the double of the ex- 
penses of government, as before estimated, from the 
million and a half of dollars which we before supposed 
might be annually paid without distress, we may con- 
clude that this state can contribute one million of dol- 
lars annually towards supporting the federal army, 
paying the federal debt, building a federal navy, or 
opening roads, clearing rivers, forming safe ports, and 
other useful works. 

To this estimate of our abilities, let me add a word 
as to the application of them. If, when cleared of the 
present contest, and of the debts with which that will 
charge us, we come to measure force hereafter with 
any European power. Such events are devoutly to be 
deprecated. Young as we are, and with such a coun- 
try before us to fill with people and with happiness, we 
should point in that direction the whole generative 
force of nature, wasting none of it in efforts of mutual 
destruction. It should be our endeavour to cultivate 



133 



the peace and friendship of every nation, even of that 
which has injured us most, when we shall have carried 
our point against her. Our interest will be to throw 
open the doors of commerce, and to knock off all its 
shackles, giving perfect freedom to all persons for the 
vent of whatever they may choose to bring into our 
ports, and asking the same in their's. Never was so 
much false arithmetic employed on any subject, as that 
which has been employed to persuade nations that it is 
their interest to go to war. Were the money which it 
has cost to gain, at the close of a long war, a little 
town, or a little territory, the right to cut wood here, 
or to catch fish there, expended in improving what they 
already possess, in making roads, opening rivers, build - 
ing ports, improving the arts, and finding employment 
for their idle poor, it would render them much strong- 
er, much wealthier and happier. This I hope will be 
our wisdom. And, perhaps, to remove as much as pos- 
sible the occasions of making war, it might be better 
for us to abandon the ocean altogether, that being the 
element whereon we shall be principally exposed to 
jostle with other nations : to leave to others to bring 
what we shall want, and to carry what we can spare. 
This would make us invulnerable to Europe, by offering 
none of our property to their prize, and would turn all 
our citizens to the cultivation of the earth ; and, T re- 
peat it again, cultivators of the earth are the most vir- 
tuous and independent citizens. It might be time 
enough to seek employment for them at sea, when the 
land no longer offers it. But the actual habits of our 
countrymen attach them to commerce. They will ex- 
ercise it for themselves. Wars then must sometimes 
be our lot ; and all the wise can do, will be to avoid 
that half of them which would be produced by our own 
follies and our own acts of injustice ; and to make for 
the other half the best preparations we can. Of what 
nature should these be? A land army would be use- 
less for offence, and not the best nor safest instrument 
of defence. For either of these purposes, the sea is the 
field on which we should meet an European enemy. 



184 



On that element it is necessary we should possess some 
power. To aim at such a navy as the greater nations 
of Europe possess, would be a foolish and wicked waste 
of the energies of our countrymen. It would be to pull 
on our own heads that load of military expense which 
makes the European labourer go supperless to bed, and 
moistens his bread with the sweat of his brows. It 
will be enough if we enable ourselves to prevent insults 
from those nations of Europe which are weak on the 
sea, because circumstances exist, which render even 
the stronger ones weak as to us. Providence has placed 
their richest and most defenceless possessions at our 
door; has obliged their most precious commerce to 
pass, as it were, in review before us. To protect this, 
or to assail, a small part only of their naval force will 
even be risqued across the Atlantic. The dangers to 
which the elements expose them here are too well 
known, and the greater dangers to which they would 
be exposed at home were any general calamity to in- 
volve their whole fleet. They can attack us by detach- 
ment only; and it will suffice to make ourselves equal 
to what they may detach. Even a smaller force than 
they may detach will be rendered equal or superior by 
the quickness with which any check may be repaired 
with us, while losses with them will be irreparable till 
too late. A small naval force then is sufficient for us, 
and a small one is necessary. What this should be, I 
will not undertake to say. I will only say, it should by 
no means be so great as we are able to make it. Sup- 
pose the million of dollars, or 300,000 pounds, which 
Virginia could annually spare without distress, to be 
applied to the creating a navy. A single year's contri- 
bution would build, equip, man, and send to sea a force 
which should carry 300 guns. The rest of the confed- 
eracy, exerting themselves in the same proportion, 
would equip in the same time 1500 guns more. So that 
one year's contribution would set up a navy of 1800 
guns. The British ships of the line average 76 guns; 
their frigates 33. — 1800 guns then would form a fleet of 
30 ships, 18 of which might be of the line, and 12 fri- 



185 



gates. Allowing 8 men, the British average, for every 
gun, their annual expense, including subsistence, cloth- 
ing, pay and ordinary repairs, would be about 1280 dol- 
lars for every gun, or 2,304,000 dollars for the whole. 
I state this only as one year's possible exertion without 
deciding whether more or less than a year's exertion 
should be thus applied. 

The value of our lands and slaves, taken conjunctly, 
doubles in about twenty years. This arises from the 
multiplication of our slaves, from the extension of cul- 
ture, and increased demand for lands. The amount 
of what may be raised will of course rise in the same 
proportion. 



QUERY XXIII. 

The histories of the state, the memorials published in 
its name in the time of its being a colony, and the pam- 
phlets relating to its interior or exterior affairs present 
or ancient ? 

Captain Smith, who next to Sir Walter Raleigh may 
be considered as the founder of our colony, has written 
its history, from the first adventures to it, till the year 
1624. He was a member of the council, and afterwards 
president of the colony ; and to his efforts principally 
may be ascribed its support against the opposition of 
the natives. He was honest, sensible, and well inform- 
ed; but his style is barbarous and uncouth. His his- 
tory, however, is almost the only source from which 
we derive any knowledge of the infancy of our state. 

The reverend William Stith, a native of Virginia, 
and president of its college, has also written the his- 
tory of the same period, in a large octavo volume of 
small print. He was a man of classical learning, and 
very exact, but of no taste in style. He is inelegant, 
therefore, and his details often too minute to be tolera- 
ble, even to a native of the country, whose history he 
writes. 

16* 



186 



Beverley, a native also, has run into the other ex- 
treme, he has comprised our history* from the first pro- 
positions of Sir Walter Raleigh to the year 1700, in the 
hundredth part of the space which Stith employs for 
the fourth part of the period. 

Sir William Keith has taken it up at its earliest pe- 
riod, and continued it to the year 1725. He is agreea- 
ble enough in style, and passes over events of little 
importance. Of course he is short, and would be pre- 
ferred by a foreigner. 

During the regal government, some contest arose on 
the exaction of an illegal fee by governor Dinvviddie, 
and doubtless there were others on other occasions not 
at present recollected. It is supposed, that these are 
not sufficiently interesting to a foreigner to merit a de- 
tail. 

The petition of the council and burgesses of Virginia 
to the king, their memorial to the lords, and remon- 
strance to the commons in the year 1764, began the 
present contest ; and these having proved ineffectual 
to prevent the passage of the stamp act, the resolutions 
of the house of burgesses of 1765 were passed, declar- 
ing the independence of the people of Virginia on the 
parliament of Great Britain, in matters of taxation. 
From that time till tne declaration of independence by 
Congress in 1776, their journals are filled with asser- 
tions of the public rights. 

The pamphlets published in this state on the contro- 
verted question, were : 

J 766, An Inquiry into the rights of the British Colo- 
nies, by Richard Bland. 

1769, The Monitor's Letters, by Dr Arthur Lee. 

1774, A summary View of the rights of British Ame- 
rica.* 

1774, Considerations, &c. by Robert Carter Nicholas. 

Since the declaration of independence this state has 
had no controversy with any other, except with that of 
Pennsylvania, on their common boundary. — Some pa- 

* By the author of these notes. 



181 



pers on this subject passed between the executive and 
legislative bodies of the two states, the result of which 
was a happy accommodation of their rights. 

To this account of our historians, memorials, and 
pamphlets, it may not be unuseful to add a chronologi- 
cal catalogue of American state papers, as far as I have 
been able to collect their titles. It is far from being 
either complete or correct. Where the title alone, and 
not the paper itself, has come under my observation, I 
cannot answer for the exactness of the date. Some- 
times I have not been able to find any date at all, and 
sometimes have not been satisfied that such a paper 
exists. An extensive collection of papers of this de- 
scription has been for some time in a course of prepa- 
ration by a gentleman* fully equal to the task, and from 
whom, therefore, we may hope ere long to receive it. 
In the mean time accept this as the result of my labours, 
and as closing the tedious detail which you have so un- 
designedly drawn upon yourself. 

Pro Johanne Caboto et filiis suis super 1496, Mar. 5. 
terra incognita investiganda. 12. Ry. H- H« 7. 
595. 3. Hakl. 4. 2. Mem. Am. 409. 

Billa signata anno 13. Henrici septimi. 1498. Feb. 3. 
3. Hakluyt's voiages 5. 13. H. 7. 

De potestatibus ad terras incognitas in- 1502, Dec. 19. 
vestigandum. 13. Rymer. 37. 18. H. 7. 

Commission de Francois I. a Jacques Ca- 1540, Oct. 17. 
tier pour Pestablissement du Canada. 
L' Escarbot. 397. 2. Mem. Am. 416. 

An act against the exaction of money, or 1548, 2. E. 6. 
any other thing, by any officer for li- 
cense to traffique into Iseland and New- 
foundland, made in An. 2. Edwardi 
sexti. 3. Hakl. 131. 

The letters patent granted by her Majes- 1578, June U, 
tie to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, knight, for 20 El. 
the inhabiting and planting of our peo- 
ple in America. 3. Hakl. 135. 



* Mr. Hazard. 



188 



1583, Feb. 6. Letters-patent of Queen Elizabeth to 

Adrian Gilbert and others, to discover 
the northwest passage to China. 3. 
Hakl. 96. 

1584, Mar. 25. The letters-patent granted by the Queen's 
26 « EL Majestie to M. Walter Raleigh, now 

knight, for the discovering and plant- 
ing of new lands and countries, to con- 
tinue the space of six years and no 
more. 3. Hakl. 243. 

Mar. 7. 31. El. An assignment by Sir Walter Raleigh for 
continuing the action of inhabiting and 
planting his people in Virginia. Hakl. 
1st. ed. publ. in 1589. p. 815. 

1603, Nov. 8. Lettres de Lieutenant General de PAca- 
die & pays circonvoisins pour le Sieur 
de Monts. L'Escarbot. 417. 

1606, Apr. 10. Letters-patent to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir 
4 Jac. 1. George Somers and others of America. 

Stith. Apend. No. 1. 

1607, Mar. 9. An ordinance and constitution enlarging 
4. Jac. 1. the council of the two colonies in Vir- 
ginia and America, and augmenting 
their authority, M. S. 

1609, May 23. The second charter to the treasurer and 
7 Jac. 1. company for Virginia, erecting them 

into a body politic. Stith. Ap. 2. 

1610, Apr. 10. Letters-patent to the E. of Northampton, 
Jac. 1. granting part of the island of New- 
foundland. 1. Harris. 861. 

1611, Mar. 12. A third charter to the treasurer and com- 
9 Jac. 1. pany for Virginia. Stith. Ap. 3. 

1617. Jac 1 A commission to Sir Walter Raleigh. 
Qu.? 

1620, Apr. 7. Commissio specialis concernens le garb- 
18 Jac. 1. ling herbae Nocotianre. 17. Ryrn. 190. 

1620 June 29. A proclamation for restraint of the disor- 
18 Jac. 1. dered trading of tobacco. 17. Ryrn. 

233. 

1620, Nov. 3. A grant of New England to the council 
Jac L of Plymouth. 



189 



An ordinance and constitution of the trea- 1621, July 24. 

surer, council and company in Eng- Jac - 1- 

land, for a council of state and general 

assembly in Virginia. Stith. Ap. 4. 
A grant of Nova Scotia to Sir William 1621. Sep. 10. 

Alexander. 2. Mem. de PAmerique. 20 Jac. 1. 

193. 

A proclamation prohibiting interloping 1622, Nov. 6. 
and disorderly trading to New England 20 Jac. 1. 
in America. 17. Rym. 416. 

De commissione speciali Willelmo Jones 1623, May 9. 
militi directa. 17. Rym. 490. 21 Jac. 1. 

A grant to Sir Edmund Ployden, of New 1623. 
Albion. Mentioned in Smith's exami- 
nation. 82. 

De commissione Henrico vicecomiti Man- 1624, July 15. 

devill & aliis. 17. Rym. 609. 22 Jac. 1. 

De Commissione speciali concernenti gu- 1624, Aug. 26. 

bernationem in Virginia. 17. Rym. 22 Jac. 1. 

618. 

A proclamation concerning tobacco. 17. I 624 ? Sep* 29. 

Rym. 621. 22 Jac. 1. 

De concessione demiss, Edwardo Ditch- 1624, Nov. 9. 

field et aliis. 17. Rym. 633. 22 Jac. 1. 

A proclamation for the utter prohibiting 1625, Mar. 2. 

the importation and use of all tobacco 22 Jac. 1. 

which is not of the proper growth of 

the colony of Virginia and the Somer 

islands, or one of them. 17. Rym. 668. 
De commissione directa Georgio Yarde- 1625, Mar. 4. 

ley militi et aliis. 18. Rym. 311. 1 Car. 1. 

Proclamatio de herba Nicotiana. 18. 1625, Apr. 9. 

Rym. 19. 1 Car. 1. 

A proclamation for settlinge the planta- 1625, May 13. 

tion of Virginia. 18. Rym. 72. 1 Car. 1. 

A grant of the soil, barony, and domains 1625, July 12. 

of Nova Scotia to Sir Wm. Alexander 

of Minstrie. 2 Mem. Am. 226. 
Commissio directa Johanni Wolstenhol- 1626, Jan. 31. 

me militi et aliis. 18. Rym. 831. 2 Car. 1. 



190 



1626. Feb. 17. A proclamation touching tobacco. Rvtn. 

2 Car. 1. ; g4g. 

1627, Mar. 19. A grant of Massachusetts bay by the 
qu ? 2 Car. 1. council of Plymouth to Sir Henry Ros- 

well and others. 
1627, Mar. 26. De concessione commissionis specialis 

3 Car. 1. p ro concilio in Virginia. 18. Rym. 980. 
1627, Mar. 30. De proclamations de signatione de tobac- 
3 Car. 1. co. 18. Rym. 886. 

1627, Aug. 9. De proclamations pro ordinatione de to- 
3 Car. I. bacco. 18. Rym. 920. 

1628, Mar. 4. A confirmation of ths grant of Massa- 
3 Car. 1. chusett's bay by ths crown. 

1629, Aug. 19. Ths capitulation of Quebec. Champlain 

pert. 2. 216. 2. Mem. Am. 489. 

1630, Jan. 6. A proclamation concerning tobacco. 19. 

5 Car. 1. Rym. 235. 

1630, April 30. Conveyance of Nova-Scotia (Port-royal 
excepted) by Sir William Alexander to 
Sir Claude St. Etienne Lord of la Tour 
and of Uarre and to his son Sir Charles 
de St. Etienne Lord of St. Denniscourt, 
on condition that they continue sub- 
jects to the king of Scotland under the 
great seai of Scotland. 

1630-31, Nov. A proclamation forbidding the disorder- 
24- ]y trading with the savages in New 

6 Car. 1. England in America, especially the fur- 

nishing the natives in those and other 

parts of America by the English with 

weapons and habiliments of warre. 

19. Ry. 210. 3. Rushw. 82. 
1630, Dec. 5. A proclamation prohibiting the selling 
6 Car. 1. arms, &c. to the savages in America. 

Mentioned 3. Rushw. 75. 
1630, Car. 1. A grant of Connecticut by the council of 

Plymouth to the E. of Warwick. 
1630, Car. 1. A conformation by the crown of the grant 

of Connecticut [said to be in the petty 
, bag office in England.] 



191 

A conveiance of Connecticut by the E. of 1631, Mar. 19. 
Warwick to Lord Say and Seal and 6 Car. 
others. Smith's examination, Appen- 
dix No. 1. 

A special commission to Edward Earle 1631, June 27. 
of Dorsett and others for the better 7 Car. 1. 
plantation of the colony of Virginia. 
19. Ry. 301. 

Litere continentes promissionem regis ad 1632, June 29. 
tradenum castrum et habitationem de 7 Car. 1. 
Kebec in Canada ad regem Francorum. 
19. Ry. 303. 

Traite entre le roy Louis XIII. et Charles 1632, Mar. 29. 

roi d' Angleterre pour la restitution de 8 Car. 1. 

la nouvelle France, la Cadie et Canada 

et des navires et merchandises pris de 

part et d'autre. Fait a St Germain 19 

Ry. 361. 2. Mem. Am. 5. 
A grant of Maryland to Ceecilius Calvert, 1^32 June 20. 

baron of Baltimore in Ireland. 8 Car. 1. 

A petition of the planters of Virginia 1633, July 3. 

against the grant to Lord Baltimore. 9 Car. 1. 
Order of council upon the dispute be- ^533^ j u jy 3, 

tween the Virginia planters and lord 

Baltimore. Votes of repress. Penn- 
sylvania. V. 

A proclamation to prevent abuses grow- 1630, Aug. 13. 

ing by the unordered retailing of to- 9 Car. 1. 

bacco. Mentioned 3* Rush. 191. 
A special commission to Thomas Young 1633, Sept. 23. 

to search, discover, and find out what 9 Car. 1. 

ports are not yet inhabited in Virginia 

and America and other parts thereunto 

adjoining. 19. Ry. 472. 
A proclamation for preventing of the 1633, Oct. 13. 

abuses growing by the unordered re- 9 Car. 1. 

tailing of tobacco. 19. Ry. 474. 
A proclamation restraining the abusive 1633, Mar. 13. 

venting of tobacco. 19. Rym. 522. Car. 1. 
A proclamation concerning the landing 1634, May 19. 

of tobacco, and also forbidding the 10 Car. 1. 



192 



planting thereof in the king's domin- 
ions. 19. Ry. 553. 
1634, Car. I. A commission to the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury and 11 others, for governing 
the American colonies. 

1634, June 19. A commission concerning tobacco. M. 

10 Car. 1. 

1635, July 18. A commission from Lord Say, and Seal, 

11 Car. 1. an( j others, to John Winthrop to be 

governor of Connecticut. Smith's App. 

1635, Car. 1. A grant to Duke Hamilton. 

1636, April 2. De commissione speciali Jobanni Har- 

12 Car. 1. vey militi to pro meliori regemine co- 

loniae in Virginia. 20. Ry. 3. 

1637, Mar. 14. A proclamation concerning tobacco. Ti« 
Car. 1. tie in 3. Rush. 617. 

1636-7, Mar. 16. De commissione speciali Georgio domino 

12 Car. 1. Goring et aliis concessa concernente 

venditionem de tobacco absque licen- 
tia regia. 20. Ry. 116. 
1637, Apr. 30. A proclamation against disorderly trans- 

13 Car. 1. porting his Majesty's subjects to the 

plantations within the parts of Ameri- 
ca. 20. Ry. 143. 3. Rush. 409. 
1637, May 1. An order of the privy council to stay 8 

13 Car. 1. ships now in the Thames from going to 

New England. 3. Rush. 409. 

1637, Car. 1. A warrant of the Lord Admiral to stop 

unconformable ministers from going 
beyond sea. 3. Rush. 410. 

1638, April 4. Order of council upon Claiborne's peti- 
Car. 1. tion against Lord Baltimore. Votes of 

representatives of Pennsylvania, vi. 
1638, April 6. An order of the king and council that the 

14 Car. 1. attorney general draw up a procla- 

mation to prohibit transportation of 
passengers to New England without 
license. 3. Rush. 718. 
1638, May 1. A proclamation to restrain the transport- 
14 Car. 1. i n g 0 f passengers and provisions to 



193 



New England without license. 20. Ry. 
223. 

A proclamation concerning tobacco. Ti- ^39 ]yr ar 25 
tie 4. Rush. 1060. Car.'l. 

A proclamation declaring his majesty's 1539^ AlJg< ^ 
pleasure to continue his commission ]5 Car. 1.' 
and letters patents for licensing retail- 
ers of tobacco. 20. Ry. 348. 

De commissione speciali Henrico Ashton 1639, Dec. 16. 
armigero et aliis ad amovendum Hen- 15 Car. 1. 
ricum Hawley gubernatorem de Bar- 
badoes. 20. Rym. 357. 

A proclamation concerning retailers of 1639, Car. 1. 
tobacco. 4. Rush. 966. 

De constitutione gubernatoris et concilii 641, Aug. 9. 
pro Virginia. 20. Ry. 484. 17 Car. 1. 

Articles of union and confederacy enter- 1543 ^ ar j 
ed into by Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
Connecticut and New haven. 1 Neale. 
223. 

Deed from George Fenwick to the old 1644 Car. 1. 
Connecticut jurisdiction. 

An ordinance of the lords and commons 
assembled in parliament, for exempt- 
ing from custom and imposition all 
commodities exported for r or imported 
from New England, which has been 
very prosperous and without any public 
charge to this state, and is likely to 
prove very happy for the propagation 
of the gospel in those parts. Tit. in 
Amer. library 90. 5. No date. But 
seems by the neighbouring articles to 
have been in 1644. 

An act for charging of tobacco brought 1644, June 20. 
from New England with custom and Car. 2. 
excise. Title in American library. 99. 8. 

An act for the advancing and regulating ^44^ Aug 1# 
the trade of this commonwealth. Tit. Car/2. 
Amer. libr. 99. 9. 
17 



194 



Sept. 18. Grant of the Northern neck of Virginia 
1 Car. 2. t0 j^ or( ] Hopton, Lord Jermyn, Lord 

Culpepper, Sir John Berkley, Sir Will- 
iam Moreton, Sir Dudly Wyatt, and 
Thomas Culpepper. 
1650, Oct. 3. An act prohibiting trade with the Barba- 
2. Car. 2. does, Virginia, Bermudas and Antego. 

ScobelPs Acts. 1027. 

1650, Car. 2. A declaration of Lord Willoughby, gover 

nor of Barbadoes, and of his council, 
against an act of parliament of 3d of 
October 1650. 4. Polit. register. 2. cited 
from 4. Neal. hist, of the Puritans. 
App. No. 12 but not there. 
1650 Car. 2. A final settlement of boundaries between 
the Dutch New Netherlands and Con- 
necticut. 

1651, Sept. 26. Instructions for Captain Robert Dennis, 
3 Car. 2. Mr. Richard Bennet, Mr. Thomas 

Stagge, and Captain William Clai- 
bourne, appointed Commissioners for 
the reducing of Virginia and the inhab- 
itants thereof to their due obedience to 
the Commonwealth of England. I. Thur- 
loe's state papers, 197. 
1651, Oct. 9. An act for increase of shipping and en- 

3 Car. 2. couragement of the navigation of this 

nation. Scobell's acts, 1449. 
1651-2,Mar.l2. Articles agreed on and concluded at 

4 Car. 2. James citie in Virginia for the surren- 

dering and settling of that plantation 
under the obedience and government 
of the commonwealth of England, by 
the commissioners of the council of 
state, by authoritie of the parliament of 
England, and by the grand assembly of 
the governor, council, and burgesse of 
that state. M. S. [Ante. p. 206.] 
1651-2 Mar 12 ^ n act °^ indempnitie made at the sur- 
4Ca~ r 'l ' render of the countrey [of Virginia.] 
[Ante. p. 206.] 



195 



Capitulation de Port-Royal. Mem. Am. 1654, Aug 16 
507. 

A proclamation of the protector relating 1655, Car. 2. 

to Jamaica. 3. Thurl. 75. 
The protector to the commissioners of 1655, Sept. 26. 

Maryland. A letter. 4. Thurl. 55. 7 Car. 2. 

An instrument made at the council of i£55, Oct. 8. 

Jamaica, Oct. 8, 1655, for the better 7 Car. 2. 

carrying on of affairs there. 4 Thurl. 

17. 

Treaty of Westminster between France 1555, Nov. 3. 
and England. 6 corps diplom. part 2. 
p. 121. 2 Mem. Am. 10. 

The assembly at Barbadoes to the protec- jy[ ar 27 
tor. 4. Thurl. 651. 8 Car. 2. ' 

A grant by Cromwell to Sir Charles de ^55^ Aug# 9# 
Saint Etienne, a baron of Scotland, 
Crowne and Temple. A French trans- 
lation of it. 2. Mem. Am. 511. 

A paper concerning the advancement of 155$ Q at 2 
trade, 5 Thurl. 80. 

A brief narration of the English rights to 1555 Car. 2- 
the Northern parts of America. 5. Thurl. 
81. 

Mr. R. Bennet and Mr. S. Matthew to |656 Oct. 10. 
Secretary Thurlow. 5. Thurl. 482. 8 Car. 2.' 

Objections against the Lord Baltimore's q cU |q 
patent, and reasons why the govern- 3 Car. 2.' 
ment of Maryland should not be put 
into his hands. 5. Thurl. 482. 

A paper relating to Maryland. 5. Thurl. 1656, Oct. 10. 
483. 8 Car. 2. 

A breviet of the proceedings of the lord 1656, Oct. 10. 
Baltimore and his officers and com- 8 Car. 2. 
pliers in Maryland, against the autho- 
rity of the parliament of the common- 
wealth of England and against his 
highness the lord protector's author- 
ity, laws and government. 5. Thurl. 
486. 



196 



1656, Oct. 15. The assembly of Virginia to Secretary 

8 Car. 2. Thurlow. 5. Thurl. 497. 

1657, Apr. 4. The governor of Barbadoes to the pro- 

9 Car. 2. tector> 6 . Thur J. 169. 

1661, Car. 2. Petition of the general court at Hartford 

upon Connecticut for a charter. Smith's 
exam. App. 4. 

1662, Apr. 23. Charter of the colony of Connecticut. 
14 Car. 2. Smith's exam. App. 6. 

1662-3, Mar. The first charter granted by Charles II. 

24. Apr. 4. 15 to the proprietaries of Carolina, to 

^•2. wit, to the Earl of Clarendon, Duke of 

Albermarle, Lord Craven, Lord Berke- 
ley, Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, 
Sir William Berkley, and Sir John 
Colleton. 4. Mem. Am. 554. 

1664, Teb. lo. The concessions and agreement of the 
lords proprietors of the province of 
New Csesaria, or New-Jersey, to and 
with all and every of the adventurers 
and all such as shall settle or plant 
there. Smith's New Jersey App. 1. 

1664, Mar. 12. A grant of the colony of New- York to 

20 Car. 2. the Duke of York. 

1664, Apr. 26. A commission to Colonel Nicols and 
16 Car. 2. others to settle disputes in New-Eng- 

land. Hutch. Hist. Mass. Bay, App. 
537. 

1664, Apr. 26. The commission to Sir Robert Carre 
and others to put the Duke of York 
in possession of New-York, New-Jer- 
sey, and all other lands thereunto ap- 
pertaining. 
Sir Robert Carre and others proclamation 
to the inhabitants of New-York, New- 
Jersey, &c. Smith's N. J. 36. 
1664, June 23. Deeds of lease and release of New-Jer- 
24. 16 Car. 2. sey by the Duke of York to Lord Berke- 
ley and Sir George Carteret. 
A conveyance of the Delaware counties 
to William Penn. 



197 

Letters between Stuyvesant and Colonel f 1664, Aug. 

Nicols on the English right. Smith's I 19-29, 20- 

N.J. 37 -42. V'YS. 
Treaty between the English and Dutch IT 1 ^ 

for the surrender of the New-Nether- |g 64 ^ 

lands. Sm. N. J. 42. 
Nicol's commission to Sir Robert Carre Sept. 3. 

to reduce the Dutch on Delaware bay. 

Sm. N. J. 47. 
Instructions to Sir Robert Carre for re- 
ducing of Delaware bay and settling 

the people there under his majesty's 

obedience. Sm. N. J. 47. 
Articles of capitulation between Sir Ro- 1664, Oct. 1. 

bert Carre and the Dutch and Swedes 

on Delaware bay and Delaware river. 

Sm. N. J. 49. 

The determination of the commissioners 1664, Dec. 1. 

of the boundary between the Duke of 16 Car. 2. 

York and Connecticut. Sm. Ex. Ap. 9. 
The New Haven case. Smith's Ex. Ap. 1664. 

20. 

The second charter granted by Charles 1665, June 13- 

II. to the same proprietors of Carolina. 24. 17 Car. 2. 

4. Mem. Am. 586. 
Declaration de guerre par la France 1666, Jan. 26. 

contre l'Angleterre. 3. Mem. Am. 

123. 

Declaration of war by the king of Eng- 1666, Feb. 9 

land against the king of France. 17 Car. 2. 

The treaty of peace between France and 1667, July 31. 

England made at Breda. 7 Corps 

Dipl. part 1. p. 41. 2. Mem. Am. 32. 
The treaty of peace and alliance between 1667, July 31. 

England and the United Provinces 

made at Breda. 7. Cor. Dip. p. 1. p. 44. 

2. Mem. Am. 40. 
Acte de la cession de l'Acadie au roi de 1667-8, Feb. 17. 

France. 2. Mem. Am. 40. 
Directions from the governor and coun- 668, April 21. 
17* 



198 



cil of New-York for a better settlement 
of the government on Delaware. Sm. 
N. J. 51. 

1668. Lovelace's order for customs at the Hoar- 

kills. Sm. N. J. 55. 
16-May 8. A confirmation of the grant of the north- 
21 Car. 2. e m neck of Virginia to the Earl of St. 

Alban's, Lord Berkeley, Sir William 
Moreton and John Tretheway. 

1672, Incorporation of the town of Newcastle or 

Amstell. 

1673, Feb. 25. A demise of the colony of Virginia to the 
25 Car. 2. E a H of Arlington and Lord Culpepper 

for 31 years. M. S. 
1673-4. Treaty at London between king Charles 

II. and the Dutch. Article VI. 
Remonstrances against the two grants of 
Charles II. of Northern and Southern 
Virginia. Ment d - Beverly. 65. 

1674, July 13. Sir George Carteret's instructions to Go- 

vernor Carteret. 

1674, JNov. 9. Governor Andros's proclamation on tak- 

ing possession of Newcastle for the 
Duke of York. Sm. N. J. 78. 

1675, Oct. 1. A proclamation for prohibiting the im- 
27 Car. 2. portation of commodities of Europe 

into any of his majesty's plantations in 
Africa, Asia, or America, which were 
not laden in England : and for putting 
all other laws relating to the trade of 
the plantations in effectual execution. 

1676, Mar. 3. The concessions and agreements of the 

proprietors, freeholders and inhabitants 
of the province of West New-Jersey in 
America. Sm. N. J. App. 2. 
1676, July 1. A deed quintipartite for the division of 
New Jersey. 

1676, Aug. 18. Letter from the proprietors of New Jer- 
sey to Richard Hartshorne. Sm. N. J. 
80. 



199 



Proprietors instructions to James Wasse 
and Richard Hartshorne. Sm. N. J. 
83. 

The charter of king Charles II. to his 1676, Oct. 10. 

subjects of Virginia. M. S. 28 Car * 2 * 

Cautionary epistle from the trustees of 1676. 

By Hinge's part of New- Jersey. Sm. N. 

J. 84. 

Indian deed for the lands between Ran- 1577^ Sept. 10. 
kokas creek and Timber creek, in New 
Jersey. 

Indian deed for the lands from Oldman's 1677, Sept. 27. 
creek to Timber creek, in New-Jersey. 

Indian deed for the lands from Rankokas 1677^ Oct. 10. 
creek to Assunpink creek, in New- 
Jersey. 

The will of Sir George Carteret, sole 1678, Dec. 5. 
proprietor of East Jersey, ordering the 
same to be sold. 

An order of the king in council for the 1680, Feb. 16. 
better encouragement of all his majes- 
ty's subjects in their trade to his ma- 
jesty's plantations, and for the better 
information of all his majesty's loving 
subjects in these matters — Lond. Gaz. 
No. 1596. Title in Amer. Library. 
134. 6. 

Arguments against the customs demand )tS0, 
ed in New West Jersey by the gover- 
nor of New-York, addressed to the 
Duke's commissioners. Sm. N. J. 117. 

Extracts of proceedings of the commit- r\$%o j une 
tee of trade and plantations ; copies of ^ 23. 25, 
letters, reports, &c. between the board Oct. 16. Nov. 
of trade, Mr. Penn, Lord Baltimore 4.8.11.18. 
and Sir John Werden, in the behalf { 20.23. 
of the Duke of York and the settlement | Dec. 16. 
of the Pennsylvania boundaries by the I 1680-1, Jan. 
L. C. J. North. Votes of Repr. Pennsyl. j ™- ^ Feb ' 
vii. — xiii. * 



200 



1681, Mar. 4. A grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn. 

^ ar * 2 * Votes of Represen. Pennsyl. xviii. 

1681, Apr. 2. The king's declaration to the inhabitants 
and planters of the province of Penn- 
sylvania. Vo. Repr. Penn. xxiv. 

1681, July 11. Certain conditions or concessions agreed 
upon by William Penn, proprietary and 
governor of Pennsylvania, and those 
who are the adventurers and purcha- 
sers in the same province. — Votes of 
Rep. Pennsyl. xxiv. 

1681, Nov. 9. Fundamental laws of the province of 

West New-Jersey. Sm. N. J. 126. 

1681-2,Jan. 14, The methods of the commissioners for 
settling and regulation of lands in New- 
Jersey. Sm. N. J. 130. 

1681-2, F. 1.2. Indentures of lease and release by the ex- 
ecutors of Sir George Carteret to Wil- 
liam Penn and 31 others, conveying 
East Jersey. 

1682, Mar. 14. The Duke of York's fresh grant of East 

New Jersey to the 24 proprietors. 

1682, Apr. 25. The frame of the government of the pro- 
vince of Pennsylvania, in America. 
Votes of Repr. Penn. xxvii. 

1682, Aug. 21. The Duke of York's deed for Pennsylva- 
nia. Vo. Repr. Penn. xxxv. 

1682, Aug. 24. The Duke of York's deed of feoffment of 
Newcastle and twelve miles circle to 
William Penn. Vo. Repr. Penn. 

1682, Aug. 24. The Duke of York's deed of feoffment of 
a tract of land 12 miles south from New- 
castle to the Whorekills, to William 
Penn. Vo. Repr. Penn. xxxvii. 

1682, Nov. 27. A commission to Thomas Lord Culpep- 

34 Car. 2. per to be lieutenant and governor-gene- 

ral of Virginia. M. S. 

1682, 10th mo. An act of union for annexing and uniting 

6th day. of the counties of Newcastle, Jones's 

and Whorekill's, alias Deal, to the pro- 



201 



vince of Pennsylvania, and of naturali- 
zation of all foreigners ia the province 
and counties aforesaid. 

An act of settlement. 1682, Dec. 6. 

The frame of the government of the pro- 1683, Apr. 2. 
vince of Pennsylvania and territories 
thereunto annexed in America. 

Proceedings L 1683, Apr. 17.27.1684, Feb. 12. 1685, Mar. 17. 
of the) May30. July 2, 16, 23. Aug. 18, 26. 
committee i June 12 « Sept. 30. Sept. 2. 
of traded DeC * 9 ' Oct. 8 17, 31. 

and plan- Kcv ' 7 - 

tations in the dispute between Lord 
Baltimore and Mr. Penn. Vo. R. P. 
xiii. — xviii. t 

A commission by the proprietors of East 1683, July 17. 
New-Jersey to Robert Barclay to be 
governor. Sin. N. J. 166. 

An order of council for issuing a quo 1683, July 26. 
warranto against the charter of the 35 Car. 2. 
colony of the Massachusetts bay in 
New-England, with his majesty's de- 
claration that in case the said corpora- 
tion of Massachusetts bay shall before 
prosecution had upon the same quo 
warranto make a full submission and 
entire resignation to his royal pleasure, 
he will then regulate their charter in 
such a manner as shall be for his ser- 
vice and the good of that colony. Title 
in American library. 139, 6. 

A commission to Lord Howard of Effing- Sept. 28. 
ham to be lieutenant and governor-ge- 35 Car. 2. 
neral of Virginia. M. S. 

The humble address of the chief govern- 1684, May 3. 
or, council and representatives of the 
island of Nevis, in the West Indies, pre- 
sented to his Majesty by Col. Netheway 
and Captain Jefferson, at Windsor, May 
3, 1684. Title in Amer. libr. 142. 3. 
cites Lond. Gaz. No. 1927. 



1 



202 

1684, Aug. 2. A treaty with tlie Indians at Albany. 

1686, Nov. 16- A treaty of neutrality for America be- 

tween France and England. 7 Corps 
Dipl. part 2, p. 44. 2 Mem. Am. 40. 

1687, Jan. 20. J$y the king, a proclamation for the more 

effectual reducing and suppressing of 
pirates and privateers in America, as 
well on the sea as on the land in great 
numbers, committing frequent robbe- 
ries and piracies, which hath occasion- 
ed a great prejudice and obstruction to 
trade and commerce, and given a great 
scandal and disturbance to our govern- 
ment in those parts. Title Amer. libr. 
147. 2. cites Lond. Gaz. No. 2315. 
1637, Feb. 12. Constitution of the council of proprietors 
of West-Jersey. Smith's N. Jersey. 
199. 

1687, qu. Sept. A confirmation of the grant of the North- 
27. 4 Jae. 2. ern neck of Virginia to Lord Culpepper. 
1687, Sept. 5. Governor Coxe's declaration to the coun- 
cil of proprietors of West-Jersey. Sm. 
N. J. 190. 

1687, Dec. 16. Provisional treaty of Whitehall concern- 
ing America between France and Eng- 
land. 2. Mem. de l'Am.89. 

1687. Governor Coxe's narrative relating to the 

division line, directed to the council of 
proprietors of West-Jersev. Sm. App. 
No. 4. 

1687. The representation of the council of pro- 

prietors of West-Jersey to Governor 
Burnet. Smith App. No. 5. 
The remonstrance and petition of the in- 
habitants of East New-Jersey to the 
king. Sm. App. No. 8. 
The memorial of the proprietors of East 
New-Jersey to the Lords of trade. Sm. 
App. No. 9/ 



203 



Agreement of the line of partition betwen 1683, Sept. b. 
East and West New-Jersey. Smith's 
N. J. 196. 

Conveyance of the government of West- 1691. 

Jersey and territories, by Dr Coxe, to 

the West-Jersey society. 
A charter granted by king William and 1691, Oct. 7. 

Queen Mary to the inhabitants of the 

province of Massachusetts Bay, in New 

England. 2 Mem. de l'Am. 593. 
The frame of government of the province 1696, Nov. 7. 

of Pennsylvania and the territories 

thereunto belonging, passed by Gov. 

Markham, Nov. 7, 1696. 
The treaty of peace between France and 1697, Sept. 20. 

England, made at Ryswick. 7 Corps 

Dipl. part 2, p. 399. 2 Mem. Am. 89. 
The opinion and answer of the Lords of 1699, July 5. 

trade to the memorial of the proprietors 

of East N. Jersey. Sm. App. No. 10. 
The memorial of the proprietors of East 1700, Jan. 15. 

New- Jersey to the Lords of trade. Sm. 

App. No. 11. 
The petition of the proprietors of East 

and West New- Jersey to the Lords Jus- 
tices of England. Sm. App. No. 12. 
A confirmation of the boundary between 1700. W. 3. 

the colonies of New-York and Connec- 
ticut, by the crown. 
The memorial of the proprietors of East 1701, Aug. 12. 

and West Jersey to the king. Sm. 

App. No. 14. 

Representation of the Lords of trade to 1701, Oct. 2. 
the Lords Justices. Sm. App. No. 13. 

A treaty with the Indians. 1701. 

Report of Lords of trade to king William, 1701-2, Jan. 6. 
of draughts of a commission and in- 
structions for a governor of N. Jersey. 
Sm. N. J. 262. 



204 



1702, Apr. 15. Surrender from the proprietors of E. and 
W. N. Jersey, of their pretended right 
of government to her majesty Q. Anne. 
Sm. N. J. 211. 

1702, Apr. 17. The Queen's acceptance of the surrender 
of government of East and West-Jer- 
sey. Sm. N. J. 219. 

1702, Nov. 16. Instructions to Lord Cornbury. Sm. N. 
J. 230. 

1702, Dec. 5. A commission from Queen Anne to Lord 

Cornbury, to be captain general and 
.governor in chief of New-Jersey. Sm. 
N. J. 220. 

1703, June 27. Recognition by the council of proprietors 

of the true boundary of the deeds of 
Sept. 10, and Oct. 10, 1677, (New- Jer- 
sey.) Sm. N. J. 96. 

1703, Indian deed for the lands above the falls 

of the Delaware in West Jersey. 
Indian deed for the lands at the head of 
Rankokus river, in West Jersey. 

1704, June 18. A proclamation by Queen Anne, for set- 

tling and ascertaining the current rates 
of foreign coins in America. Sm. N. J. 
2S1. 

1705, May 3. Additional instructions to Lord Cornbury. 

Sm. N. J. 235. 
1707, May 3. Additional instructions to Lord Cornbury. 

Sm. N. J. 258. 
1707, Nov. 20. Additional instructions to Lord Cornbury. 

Sm. N. J. 259. 
1707. An answer by the council of proprietors 

for the western division of N. Jersey, to 

questions proposed to them by Lord 

Cornbury. Sm. N. J. 285. 
1708.9. Instructions to Colonel Vetch in hisnego- 

Feb. 28. ciations with the governors of America. 

Sm. N. J. 364. 
1708-9, Instructions to the governor of New-Jer- 

Feb. 28. sey and New-York. Sm. J. 361. 



205 



Earl of Dartmouth's letter to governor 1710, Aug. 
Hunter. 

Premiers propositions de la France. 6 1711, Apr. 22. 

ilamberty, 669, 2 Mem. Am. 341. 
Reponses de la France aux demandes 1711, Oct. 8. 

preliminaries de la Grande-Bretagne. 

6 Lamb. 681. 2, Mem. Amer. 344. Sept. 27. 

Demandes preliminaries plus particulieres 1711, 



de la Grande-Bretagne, avec les repon- Oct. 8. 
ses. 2 Mem. de l'Am. 346. Sept. 27. 

L'acceptation de la part de la Grande- 1711, 

Bretagne. 2 Mem. Am. 356. 0ct - 8 - 

The Queen's instructions to the Bishop of 1711, Dec. 23. 
Bristol and Earl of Stafford, her pleni- 
potentiaries, to treat for a general peace. 
6 Lamberty, 744. 2 Mem. Am. 358. 
A memorial of Mr. St. John to the Mar- Ma Y 24 « 
quis de Torci, with regard to North 1712 j une j 0 
America, to commerce, and to the sus- 
pension of arms. 7 Recueil de Lam- 
berty J61, 2 Mem. de l'Amer. 376. 
Reponse du roi de France au memoire 1712, une 10. 
de Londres. 7. Lamberty, p. 163. 2 
Mem. Am. 380. 
Traite pour une suspension d'armes entre 1712, Aug. 19. 
Louis XIV. roi de France, and Anne, 
reine de la Grande-Bretagne, fait a Pa- 
ris. 8 Corps Diplom. part 1, p. 308, 
2 Mem. d'Am. 104. 
Offers of France to England, demands of 1712, Sept. 10. 
England, and the answers of France. 
7. Rec. de Lamb. 491. 2 Mem. Am. 390. 
Traite de paix and d'amitie entre Louis Mar. 31. 

XIV. roi de France, and Anne, reine 1713, 

de la Grande Bretagne, fait a Utrecht. April 11. 
15 Corps Diplomatique de Dumont, 339. 
id. Latin. 2 Actes and meinoires dela 
pais d'Utrecht. 457. id. Lat. Fr. 2 
Mem. Am. 113. 
Traite de navigation and de commerce Mar. 31 * 
entre Louis XIV, roi de France, and * 7l3, ~7T7* 
Anne, reine de la Grande-Bretagne. pn 
18 



206 



Fait a Utrecht. 8 Corps Dipl. part 1, 
p. 345. 2 Mem. de PAm. 137. 

1726. A treaty with the Indians. 

1723, Jan. The petition of the representatives of the 
province of New-Jersey, to have a dis- 
tinct governor. Sra. N. J. 421. 

1732. G. 2. Deed of release by the government of 
Connecticut to that of New York. 

1732, June 9-20 The Charter granted by George II. for 
5 Geo. 2. Georgia. 4 Mem. de l'Am. 617. 

1733 « Petition of Lord Fairfax, that a commis- 

sion might issue for running and mark- 
ing the dividing line between his dis- 
trict and the province of Virginia. 

1733, Nov. 29. Order of the king in council for com- 

missioners to survey and settle the said 
dividing line between the proprietary 
and royal territory. 

1736, Aug. o. Report of the Lords of trade relating to 

the separating the government of the 
province of New- Jersey from New- 
York. Sm. N. J. 423. 

1737, Aug. 10. Survey and report of the commissioners 

appointed on the part of the crown to 
settle the line between the crown and 
Lord Fairfax. 

1737, Aug. 11. Survey and report of the commissioners 

appointed on the part of Lord Fairfax 
to settle the line between the crown 
and him. 

1738, Dec. 21. Order of reference of the surveys between 

the crown and Lord Fairfax to the 
council for plantation affairs. 

1744, June. Treaty with the Indians of the Six Na- 

tions at Lancaster. 

1745, April 6. Report of the council for plantation af- 

fairs, fixing the head springs of Rappa- 
hannoc and Fatowmac, and a commis- 
sion to extend the line. 
1745, April 11. Order of the king in council confirming 
the said report of the council for plan- 
tation affairs. 



207 



Articles preliminaries pour parvenir & la 1748, April 30. 

paix, signes a Aix-ia-Chapelle entre les 

ministres de France, de la Grande-Bre- 

tagne, and cles Provinces-Unies des 

Pays-Bas. 2 Mem. de l'Am. 159. 
Declaration des ministres de France, cle 1748, May 21. 

la Grande-Bretagne,and des Provinces- 
Unies des Pays-Bas, pour rectifier les 

articles J. and II. des preliminaries. % 

Mem. Am. 165. 
The general and definitive treaty of peace 1748, Oct. 7-18. 

concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle. Lon. 22 G. 2. 

Mag. 1748. 503. French. 2. Mem. 

Am. 169. 

A treaty with the Indians. 1754. 

A conference between governor Bernard i 5 58 ? Aug. 7. 

and Indian nations at Burlington. Sm. 

N. F. 449. 

A conference between governor Denny, 1758, Oct. 8. 

governor Bernard, and others, and In- 
dian nations at Easton. Sm. N. F.455. 
The capitulation of Niagara. 1759, July 25. 

The king's proclamation promising lands 33. g. 2. 

to soldiers. 175— 
The definitive treaty concluded at Paris. 1763, Feb. 10. 

Lon. Mag. 1763. 149. 3. G. 3. 

A proclamation for regulating the cessions 1763, Oct. 7. 

made by the last treaty of peace. Guth. 

Geogr. Gram. 623. 
The king's proclamation against settling 1763. 

on any lands on the waters westward 

of the Alleghany. 
Deed from the six nations of Indians to i7gg jvj 0Vt 3. 

William Trent, and others, for lands 

betwixt the Ohio and Monongahela. 

View of the title to Indiana. Phil. 

Steiner and. Cist. 1776. 
Deed from the six nations of Indians to 1768 ^ oy 5. 

the crown for certain lands and settling 9 

a boundary. M. S, 



APPENDIX. 



The preceding sheets have been submitted to my 
friend Mr Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress, 
he has furnished me with the following observations, 
which have too much merit not to be communicated. 

(A.) p. 15. Besides the three channels of communi- 
cation mentioned between the western waters and the 
Atlantic, there are two others to which the Pennsylva- 
nians are turning their attention ; one from Presque 
Isle, on Lake Erie, to Le Bceuf, down the Alleghaney 
to Kiskiminitas, then up the Kiskiminitas, and from 
thence, by a small portage, to Juniata, which falls into 
the Susquehanna: the other from Lake Ontario to the 
East Branch of the Delaware, and down that to Phila- 
delphia. Both these are said to be very practicable: 
and, considering the enterprising temper of the Penn- 
sylvanians, and particularly of the merchants of Phila- 
delphia, whose object is concentered in promoting the 
commerce and trade of one city, it is not improbable 
but one or both of these communications will be open- 
ed and improved. 

(B.) p. 18. The reflections I was led into on viewing 
this passage of the Patowmac through the Blue ridge 
were, that this country must have suffered some violent 
convulsion, and that the face of it must have been 
changed from what it probably was some centuries ago: 
that the broken and ragged faces of the mountain on 
each side the river ; the tremendous rocks, which are 
left with one end fixed in the precipice, and the other 
jutting out, and seemingly ready to fall for want of sup- 
port, the bed of the river for several miles below ob- 
structed, and filled with the loose stones carried from 



209 

this mound ; in short, every thing on which you cast 
your eye evidently demonstrates adisrupture and breach 
in the mountain, and that, before this happened, what 
is now a fruitful vale, was formerly a great lake or col- 
lection of water, which possibly might have here form- 
ed a mighty cascade, or had its vent to the ocean by 
the Susquehanna, where the Blue ridge seems to ter- 
minate. Besides this, there are other parts of this coun- 
try which bear evident traces of a like convulsion. 
From the best accounts 1 have been able to obtain, the 
place where the Delaware now flows through the Kit- 
tatinney mountain, which is a continuation of what 
is called the North ridge, or mountain, was not its origi- 
nal course, but that it passed through what is now call- 
ed 6 the Wind-gap,' a place several miles to the west- 
ward, and about an hundred feet higher than the pre- 
sent bed of the river. This Wind-gap is about a mile 
broad, and the stones in it such as seem to have been 
washed for ages by water running over them. Should 
this have been the case, there must have been a large 
lake behind that mountain, and by some uncommon 
swell in the waters, or by some convulsion of nature the 
river must have opened its way through a different part 
of the mountain, and meeting there with less obstruc- 
tion, carried away with it the opposing moundsof earth, 
and deluged the country below with the immense col- 
lection of waters to which this new passage gave vent. 
There are still remaining, and daily discovered, innu- 
merable instances of such a deluge on both sides of the 
river, after it passed the hills above the falls of Tren- 
ton, and reached the champaign. On the New Jersey 
side, which is flatter than the Pennsylvania side, all the 
country below Croswick hills seems to have been over- 
flowed to the distance of from ten to fifteen mites back 
from the river, and to have acquired a new soil by the 
earth and clay brought down and mixed with the native 
sand. The spot on which Philadelphia stands evident- 
ly appears to be made ground. The different strata 
through which they pass in digging to water, the acorns, 
leaves, and sometimes branches, which are found above 
18* 



210 



twenty feet below the surface, all seem to demonstrate 
this. I am informed that at Yorktown in Virginia, 
in the bank of York river, there are different stra- 
ta of shells and earth, one above another, which seem 
to point out that the country there has undergone 
several changes ; that the sea has, for a succession of 
ages, occupied the place where dry land now appears; 
and that the ground has been suddenly raised at vari- 
ous periods. What a change would it make in the 
country below, should the mountains at Niagara, by 
any accident, be cleft asunder, and a passage suddenly 
opened to drain off the waters of Erie and the upper 
lakes ! While ruminating on these subjects, I have of- 
ten been hurried away by fancy, and led to imagine, 
that what is now the bay of Mexico, was once a cham- 
paign country ; and that from the point or cape of Flo- 
rida there was a continued range of mountains through 
Cuba, Hispaniola, Porte Rico, Martinique, Guadaloupe, 
Barbadoes, and Trinidad, till it reached the coast of 
America, and formed the shores which bounded the 
ocean, and guarded the country behind ; that by some 
convulsion or shock of nature, the sea had broken 
through these mounds, and deluged that vast plain, till 
it reached the foot of the Andes : that being there heap- 
ed up by the trade winds, always blowing from one 
quarter, it had found its way back, as it continues to 
do, through the gulph between Florida and Cuba, car- 
rying with it the loom and sand it may have scooped 
from the country it had occupied, part of which it may 
have deposited on the shores of North America, and 
with part formed the banks of Newfoundland. But 
these are only the visions of fancy. 

(3.) p. 35. There is a plant, or weed, called the 
Jamestown weed,* of a very singular quality. The 
late Dr. Bond informed me, that he had under his care 
a patient, a young girl, who had put the seeds of this 
plant into her eye, which dilated the pupil to such a 
degree, that she could see in the dark, but in the light 

* Datura pp.ricarpiis erectis ovatis. Linn. 



211 



was almost blind. The effect that the leaves had when 
eaten by a ship's crew that arrived at Jamestown, are 
well known* 

(4.) p. 67. Mons. BufTon has indeed given an afflict- 
ing picture of human nature in his description of the 
man of America. But sure I am there never was a 
picture more unlike the original. He grants indeed 
that his stature is the same as that of the man of Eu- 
rope. He might have admitted, that the Iroquois were 
larger, and the Lenopi, or Delawares, taller than people 
in Europe generally are. But he says their organs of 
generation are smaller and weaker than those of Euro- 
peans. Is this a fact ? I believe not ; at least it is an 
observation I never heard before. — ' They have no 
beard.' Had he known the pains and trouble it costs 
the men to pluck out by the roots the hair that grows 
on their faces, he would have seen that nature had not 
been deficient in that respect. Every nation has its 
customs. I have seen an Indian beau, with a looking- 
glass in his hand, examining his face for hours together, 
and plucking out by the roots every hair he could dis- 
cover, with a kind of tweezer made of a piece of fine 
brass wire, that had been twisted round a stick, and 
which he used with great dexterity. — * They have no 
ardour for their females.' It is true they do not in* 
dulge those excesses, nor discover that fondness which 
is customary in Europe ; but this is not owing to a de- 
fect in nature but to manners. Their soul is wholly 
bent upon war. This is what procures them glory 
among the men, and makes them the admiration of the 
women. To this they are educated from their earliest 
youth. When they pursue game with ardour, when 
they bear the fatigues of the chase, when they sustain 
and suffer patiently hunger and cold; it is not so much 
for the sake of the game they pursue, as to convince 
their parents and the council of the nation that they are 
fit to be enrolled in the number of the warriors. The 

* An instance of temporary imbecility produced by tbem is 
mentioned, BeverU H. of Virg. b. 2, c. 4s 



212 



gongs of the women, the dance of the warriors, the sage 
counsel of the chiefs, the tales of the old, the trium- 
phal entry of the warriors returning with success from 
battle, and the respect paid to those who distinguish 
themselves in war, and in subduing their enemies; in 
short, every thing they see or hear tends to inspire them 
with an ardent desire for military fame. If a young 
man were to discover a fondness for women before he 
has been to war, he would become the contempt of the 
men, and the scorn and ridicule of the women. Or 
were he to indulge himself with a captive taken in war, 
and much more were he to offer violence in order to 
gratify his lust, he would incur indellible disgrace. The 
seeming frigidity of the men, therefore, is the effect of 
manners, and not a defect of nature. Besides, a cele- 
brated warrior is oftener courted by the females, than 
he has occasion to court: and this is a point of honour 
which the men aim at. Instances similar to that of 
Ruth and Boaz* are not uncommon among them. For 
though the women are modest and diffident, and so 
bashful that they seldom lift up their eyes, and scarce 
ever look a man full in the face, yet being brought up 
in great subjection, custom and manners reconcile them 
to modes of acting, which, judged of by Europeans, 
would be deemed inconsistent with the rules of female 
decorum and propriety. I once saw a young widow, 
whose husband, a warrior, had died about eight days 
before, hastening to finish her grief, and who by tear- 
ing her hair, beating her breast, and drinking spirits, 
made the tears flow in great abundance, in order that 
she might grieve much in a short space of time, and be 
married that evening to another young warrior. The 
manner in which this was viewed by the men and wo- 
men of the tribe, who stood round, solemn and silent 
spectators of the scene, and the indifference with which 

* When Boaz had eaten and drank, and his heart was merry, 
he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn; and Ruth 
came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. Ruth 
iii, 7. 



313 

they answered my questions respecting it, convinced 
me that it was no unusual custom. I have known men 

| advanced in years, whose wives were old and past 
child bearing, take young wives, and have children, 

! though the practice of polygamy is not common. — Does 
this savour of frigidity, or want of ardour for the fe- 
male? Neither do they seem to be deficient in natural 
affection. 1 have seen both fathers and mothers in the 
deepest affliction, when their children have been dan- 
gerously ill ; though I believe the affection is stronger 
in the descending than the ascending scale, and though 
custom forbids a father to grieve immoderately for a 
son slain in battle. ' That they are timorous and cow- 
ardly,' is a character with which there is little reason 
to charge them, when we recollect the manner in which 

the Iroquois met Mons. , w T ho marched into their 

country, in which the old men, who scorned to fly, or 
to survive the capture of their town, braved death, like 
the old Romans in the time of the Gauls, and in which 
they soon after revenged themselves by sacking and de- 
stroying Montreal. But above all, the unshaken forti- 
tude with which they bear the most excruciating tor- 
tures and death when taken prisoners, ought to exempt 
them from that character. Much less are they to be char- 
acterised as a people of no vivacity, and who are ex- 
cited to action or motion only by the calls of hunger 
and thirst. Their dances in which they so much delight, 
and which to an European would be the most severe 
exercise, fully contradict this, not to mention their fa- 
tiguing marches, and the toil they voluntarily and cheer- 
fully undergo in their military expeditions, it is true, 
that when at home, they do not employ themselves in 
labour or the culture of the soil ; but this again is the 
effect of customs and manners, which have assigned 
that to the province of the women. — But it is said, they 
are averse to society and a social life. Can any thing 
be more inapplicable than this to a people who always 
live in towns or clans ? Or can they be said to have no 
'republic,' who conduct all their affairs in national 
councils, who pride themselves in their national charac- 
ters wno consider an insult or injury done to an indi- 



214 



vidual by a stranger as done to the whole, and resent 
it accordingly? In short this picture is not applicable 
to any nation of Indians I have ever known or heard of 
in North America. 

(5.) p. 99, As far as I have been able to learn, the 
country from the sea coast to the Alleghany, and from 
the most southern waters of James river up to Patuxen 
river, now in the state of Maryland, was occupied by 
three different nations of Indians, each of which spoke 
a different language, and w T ere under separate and dis- 
tinct governments. What the original or real names 
of those nations were, I have not been able to learn 
with certainty; but by us they are distinguished by the 
names of Powhatans, Mannahoacs, and Monaeans, now 
commonly called Tuscaroras. The Powhatans, who 
occupied the country from the sea shore up to the falls 
of the rivers, were a powerful nation, and seem to have 
consisted of seven tribes, five on the western and two 
on the eastern shore. Each of these tribes was subdi- 
vided into towns, families, or clans, who lived together. 
All the nations of Indians in North America lived in 
the hunter state and depended for subsistence on hunt- 
ing, fishing, and the spontaneous fruits of the earth, and 
a kind of grain which was planted and gathered by the 
women, and is now known by the name of Indian corn. 
Long potatoes, pumpkins of various kinds, and squashes, 
were also found in use among them. They had no 
flocks, herds, or tamed animals of any kind. Their 
government is a kind of patriarchal confederacy. Eve- 
ry town or family has a chief, w T ho is distinguished by 
a particular title, and whom we commonly call 1 Sa- 
chem.' The several towns or families that compose a 
tribe, have a chief who presides over it, and the several 
tribes composing a nation have a chief who presides 
over the whole nation. These chiefs are generally men 
advanced in years, and distinguished by their prudence 
and abilities in council. The matters which merely re- 
gard a town or family are settled by the chief and prin- 
cipal men of the town : those which regard a tribe, such 
as the appointment of head warriors or captains, and 
settling differences between different towns and fami- 



215 



lies, are regulated at a meeting or council of the chiefs 
from the several towns ; and those which regard the 
whole nation, such as the making war, concluding 
peace, or forming alliances with the neighbouring na- 
tions, are deliberated on and determined in a national ' 
council composed of the chief of the tribe, attended 
by the head warriors and a number of the chiefs from 
the towns, who are his counsellors. In every town 
there is a council house, where the chief and old men of 
the town assemble, when occasion requires, and con- 
sult what is proper to be done. Every tribe has a fixed 
place for the chiefs of the towns to meet and consult on 
the business of the tribe : and in every nation there is 
what they call the central council house, or central 
council fire, where the chiefs of the several tribes, with 
the principal warriors, convene to consult and determine 
on their national affairs. When any matter is propos- 
ed in the national council, it is common for the chiefs 
of the several tribes to consult thereon apart with their 
counsellors, and when they have agreed, to deliver the 
opinion of the tribe at the national council: and^ as 
their government seems to rest wholly on persuasion, 
they endeavour, by mutual concessions, to obtain una- 
nimity. Such is the government that still subsists 
among the Indian nations bordering upon the United 
States. Some historians seem to think, that the digni- 
ty of office of Sachem was hereditary. But that opinion 
does not appear to be well founded. The Sachem or 
chief of the tribe seems to be by election. And some- 
times persons who are strangers, and adopted into the 
tribe, are promoted to this dignity, on account of their 
abilities. Thus on the arrival of Captain Smith, the 
first founder of the colony of Virginia, Opeehanca- 
nough, who was Sachem or chief of the Chickahomi- 
nies, one of the tribes of the Powhatans, is said to have 
been of another tribe, and even of another nation, so 
that no certain account could be obtained of his origin 
or descent. The chiefs of the nation seem to have been 
by a rotation among the tribes. Thus when Capt* 
Smith, in the year 1609, questioned Powhatan (wha 



216 



wprthe chief of the nation, and whose proper name is 
said to have been Wahnnsouacock) respecting the suc- 
cession, the old chief informed him, "that he was very- 
old, and had seen the death of all his people thrice;* 
that not one of these generations were then living ex- 
cept himself ; that he must soon die, and the succes- 
sion descend in order to his brothers Opichapan, Ope- 
chancanough, and Catataugh, and then to his two sis- 
ters, and their two daughters." But these were 
appellations designating the tribes in the confederacy. 
For the persons named are not his real brothers, but the 
chiefs of different tribes. Accordingly in 1618, when 
Powhatan died, he was succeeded by Opichapan, and 
after his decease Opeahancanough became chief of the 
nation. I need only mention another instance to show 
that the chiefs of the tribes claimed this kindred with 
the head of the nation. In when Raleigh Cras- 

haw was with Japazaw, the Sachem or chief of the 
Patomacs, Opechancanough, who had great power and 
influence, being the second man in the nation, and next 
in succession to Opichapan, and who was a bitter but 
secret enemy to the English, and wanted to engage his 
nation in a war with them, sent two baskets of beads 
to the Patomac chief, and desired him to kill the En- 
glishman that was with him. Japazaw replied, that the 
English were his friends, and Opichapan his brother, 
and that therefore there should be no blood shed be- 
tween them by his means. It is also to be observed. 

* This is one generation more than the poet ascribes to the 
life of Nestor. 

To cP ede duo men geneai meropb anthiopon 
Ephthiath oi oi prosthen ama traphen ed' egnconto 
En Pulb egathee, meta de tritatoisin anassen. 

I. Hom. II. 250. 

Two generations now had passed away, 
Wise by his rules, and happy by his sway ; 
Two ages o'er his native realm he reign'd, 
And now uV example of the third remain'd. 

Pope. 



217 



that when the English first came over, in all their con- 
ferences with any of the chiefs, they constantly heard 
him make mention of his brother, with whom he must 
consult, or to whom he referred them, meaning thereby 
either the chief of the nation, or the tribes in confede- 
racy. The Manahoacks are said to have been a con- 
federacy of four tribes, and in alliance with the Mona- 
cans, in the war which they were carrying on against 
the Powhatans. 

To the northward of these there was another power- 
ful nation which occupied the country from the head of 
the Chesapeak-bay up to the Kittatinney mountain, and 
as far eastward as Connecticut river, comprehending 
that part of New York which lies between the High- 
lands and the ocean, all the state of New Jersey, that 
part of Pennsylvania which is watered below the range 
of the Kittatinney mountains, by the rivers or streams 
falling into the Delaware, and county of Newcastle in 
the state of Delaware, as far as Duck creek. It is to be 
observed, that the nations of Indians distinguished their 
countries one from another by natural boundaries, such 
as ranges of mountains or streams of water, lltvk as 
the heads of rivers frequently interlock, or approach 
near to each other, as those who live upon a stream 
claim the country watered by it, they often encroached 
on each other, and this is a constant source of war be- 
tween the different nations. The nation occupying the 
tract of country last described, call themselves Lenopi. 
The French writers call them Loups ; and among the 
English they are now commonly called Delawares. 
This nation or confederacy consisted of five tribes, who 
all spoke one language. 1. The Chihohocki, who dwelt 
on the west side of the river now called Delaware, a 
name which it took from Lord De la War, who put in- 
to it on his passage from Virginia in the year , but 
which by the Indians was called Chihohocki. 2. The 
Wanami, who inhabit the country called New Jersey, 
from the Rariton to the sea. 3. The Munsey, who 
dwelt on the upper streams of the Delaware, from the 
Kittatinney mountains down to the Lehigh or westers 
19 



218 



branch of the Delaware. 4. The Wabinga, who are 
sometimes called River Indians, sometimes Mohickan- 
ders, and who had their dwelling between the west 
branch of Delaware and Hudson's river, from the Kit- 
tatinney ridge down to the Rariton : and 5. The Ma- 
hiccon, or Mahattan, who occupied Statan Island, York 
Island (which from its being the principal seat of their 
residence was formerly called Manhatton) Long Island 
and that part of New- York and Connecticut which lies 
between Hudson and Connecticut rivers, from the high- 
land which is a continuation of the Kittatinney ridge 
down to the sound. This nation had a close alliance 
with the Shawauese, who lived on the Susquehanna 
and to the westward of that river, as far^ts the Allegha- 
ney mountains, and carried on a long war with another 
powerful nation or confederacy of Indians, which lived 
to the north of them between the Kittatinney moun- 
tains, or highlands, and the lake Ontario, and who call 
themselves Mingoes, and are called by the French writ- 
ers Iroquois, by the English the Five Nations, and by 
the Indians to the southward, with whom they were at 
war, Massawomacs. This war was carrying on its 
greatest fury, when captain Smith first arrived in Vir- 
ginia. The Mingo warriors had penetrated down the 
Susquehannah to the mouth of it. In one of his excur- 
sions up the bay, at the mouth of Susquehannah, in 
1608, captain Smith met with six or seven of their ca- 
noes full of warriors, who were coming to attack their 
enemies in the rear. In an excursion which he had 
made a few weeks before up the Rappahannock, and in 
which he had a skirmish with a party of the Manaho- 
acs, and taken a brother of one of their chiefs prisoner, 
he first heard of this nation. For when he asked the pri- 
soner, why his nation attacked the English, the prisoner 
said, because his nation had heard that the English came 
from under the world to take their world from them. 
Being asked, how many worlds he knew? he said, he 
knew but one, which was under the sky that covered 
him, and which consisted of Powhatans, the Manakins, 
and the Massawomacs. Being questioned concerning 



219 



the latter, he said, they dwelt on a great water to the 
North, that they had many boats, and so many men, 
that they waged with all the rest of the world. The 
Mingo confederacy then consisted of five tribes; three 
who are the elder, to wit, the Senecas, who live to the 
West, the Mohawks to the East, and the Onondagas 
between them ; and two who are called the younger 
tribes, namely, the Cayugas and Oneidas. All these 
tribes speak one language, and were then united in a 
close confederacy, and occupied the tract of country 
from the east end of lake Erie to lake Champlain, and 
from the Kittatinney and Highlands to the Lake Onta- 
rio and the river Cadaraqui, or St Lawrence. They 
had sometime before that, carried on a war with a na- 
tion, who lived beyond the lakes, and were Adirondacs. 
In this war they were worsted : but having made a 
peace with them, through the intercession of the French 
who were then settling Canada, they turned their arms 
against the Lenopi ; and as this war was long and 
doubtful, they, in the course of it, not only exerted 
their whole force, but put in practice every measure 
which prudence or policy could devise to bring it to a 
successful issue. For this purpose they bent their 
course down the Susquehannah, and warring with the 
Indians in their way, and having penetrated as far as the 
mouth of it, they, by the terror of their arms, engaged 
a nation, now known by the name of Nanticocks, Co- 
noys, and Tuteloes, and who lived between Chesapeake 
and Delaware bays, and bordering on the tribe of Chio- 
hocki, to enter into an alliance with them. They also 
formed an alliance with the Monakans, and stimulated 
them to a war with the Lenopi and their confederates. 
At the same time the Mohawks carried on a furious war 
down the Hudson against the Mohiccons and River In- 
dians, and compelled them to purchase a temporary and 
precarious peace, by acknowledging them to be their 
superiors, and paying an annual tribute. The Lenopi 
being surrounded with enemies, and hard pressed, and 
having lost many of their warriors, were at last com- 
pelled to sue for peace, which was granted to them on 



220 



the condition that they should put themselves under 
the protection of the Mingoes, confine themselves to 
raising corn, hunting for the subsistence of their fami- 
lies, and no longer have the power of making war. This 
is what the Indians call making them women. And in 
this condition the Lenopis were when William Penn 
first arrived and began the settlement of Pennsylvania 
m 1682. 

(6.) p. 106. From the figurative language of the In- 
dians, as well as from the practice of those we are still 
acquainted with, it is evident that it was and still con- 
tinues to be, a constant custom among the Indians to 
gather up the bones of the dead, and deposite them in a 
particular place. Thus, when they make peace with 
any nation with whom they have been at war, after 
burying the hatchet, they take up the belt of wampum, 
and say, " We now gather up all the bones of those 
who have been slain, and bury them, &c." See all the 
treaties of peace. Besides, it is customary when any 
of them die at a distance from home, to buiy them, and 
afterwards to come and take up the bones and carry 
them home. At a treaty which was held at Lancaster 
with the Six Nations, one of them died, and was buried 
in the woods a little distance from the town. Some 
time after a party came and took up the body, separat- 
ed the flesh from the bones 'by boiling and scraping them 
clean, and carried them to be deposited in the sepul- 
chres of their ancestors. The operation was so offen- 
sive and disagreeable, that nobody could come near 
them while they were performing it. 

(7.) p. 110. The Oswegatchies, Connosedagoes and 
Cohunnegagoes, or as they are commonly called, Cagh- 
newagos, are of the Mingo or Six Nation Indians, who 
by the influence of the French missionaries, have been 
separated from their nation, and induced to settle there. 

I do not know of what nation the Augquaghahs are ; 
but suspect they are a family of the Senecas. 

The Nanticocks and Conoies were formerly of a na- 
tion that lived at the head of Chesapeake bay, and who, 
of late years, have been adopted into the Mingo or Iro- 



221 



quois confederacy, and make a seventh nation. The 
Monacans or Tuscaroras, who were taken into the con- 
federacy, in 1712, making the sixth. 

The Saponies are families of the Wanamies, who 
removed from New Jersey, and, with the Mohiccons, 
Munsies, and Delawares, belong to the Leonopi na- 
tion. The Mingos are a war colony from the Six Na- 
tions ; so are the Cohunnewagos. 

Of the rest of the northern tribes I never have been, 
able to learn any thing certain. But all accounts seem 
to agree in this, that there is a very powerful nation, 
distinguished by a variety of names taken from the se- 
veral towns or families, but commonly called Tawas or 
Outawas, who speak one language, and live round and 
on the waters that fall into the western lakes, and ex- 
tend from the waters of the Ohio quite to the waters 
falling into Hudson's bay. 



NO. II. 

In the Summer of the Year 1783, it was expected, that the 
Assembly of Virginia would call a Convention for the 
Establishment of a Constitution. — The following 
Draught of a Fundamental Constitution for the Com- 
monwealth of Virginia was then prepared, with a De- 
sign of being proposed in such Convention had it taken 
place. 

To the Citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 
and all others whom it may concern, the Delegates for 
the said Commonwealth in Convention assembled, send 
greeting, 

It is known to you, and to the world, that the govern- 
ment of Great Britain, with which the American States 
were not long since connected, assumed over them an 
authority unwarrantable and oppressive ; that they en- 
19* 



322 



deavoiired to enforce this authority by arms, and that 
the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia, considering resistance, 
with all its train of horrors, as a lesser evil than abject 
submission, closed in the appeal to arms. It hath pleased 
the Sovereign Disposer of all human events to give to 
this appeal an issue favourable to the rights of the 
States ; to enable them to reject forever all dependance 
on a government which had shown itself so capable of 
abusing the trusts reposed in it ; and to obtain from that 
government a solemn and explicit acknowledgment that 
they are free, sovereign, and independent States. Dur- 
ing the progress of that war, through which we had to 
labour for the establishment of our rights, the legisla- 
ture of the commonwealth of Virginia found it necessa- 
ry to make a temporary organization of government 
for preventing anarchy, and pointing our efforts to the 
two important objects of war against our invaders, and 
peace and happiness among ourselves. But this, like 
all other acts of legislation, being subject to change by 
subsequent legislatures, possessing equal powers with 
themselves ; it has been thought expedient, that it 
should receive those amendments which time and trial 
have suggested, and be rendered permanent by a power 
superior to that of the ordinary legislature. The gen- 
eral assembly therefore of this state recommend it to 
the good people thereof, to choose delegates to meet 
in general convention, with powers to form a constitu- 
tion of government for them, and to declare those fun- 
damentals to which all our laws present and future 
shall be subordinate: and, in compliance with this re- 
commendation, they have thought proper to make 
choice of us, and to vest us with powers for this pur- 
pose. 

We, therefore, the delegates, chosen by the said good 
people of this state for the purpose aforesaid, and now 
assembled in general convention, do in execution of 
the authority with which we are invested, establish the 



223 



following constitution and fundamentals of government 
for the said state of Virginia. 

The said state shall forever hereafter be governed as 
a commonwealth. 

The powers of government shall be divided into 
three distinct departments, each of them to be confided 
to a separate body of magistracy ; to wit, those which 
are legislative to one, those which are judiciary to 
another, and those which are executive to another. 
No person, or collection of persons, being of one of 
these departments, shall exercise any power properly 
belonging to either of the others, except in the instance 
hereinafter expressly permitted. 

The legislature shall consist of two branches, the one 
to be called the House of Delegates, the other the Sen- 
ate, and both together the General Assembly. The con- 
currence of both of these, expressed on three several 
readings, shall be necessary to the passage of a law. 

Delegates for the general assembly shall be chosen on 
the last Monday of November in every year. — But if 
an election cannot be concluded on that day, it may be 
adjourned from day to day till it can be concluded. 

The number of delegates which each county may 
send shall be in proportion to the number of its quali- 
fied electors ; and the whole number of delegates for 
the state shall be so proportioned to the whole fiorn- 5 
ber of qualified electors in it, that they shall never 
exceed 300, nor be fewer than 100. Whenever such 
excess or deficiency shall take place, the House of 
Delegates so deficient or excessive shall, notwithstand- 
ing this, continue in being during its legal term : but 
they shall, during that term, re-adjust the proportion, 
so as to bring their number within the limits before 
mentioned at the ensuing election. If any county be 
reduced in its qualified electors below the number 
authorized to send one delegate, let it be annexed to 
some adjoining county. 



224 



For the election of senators, let the several coun- 
ties be allotted by the senate, from time to time, into 
such and so many districts as they shall find best ; and 
let each county at the time of electing its delegates, 
choose senatorial electors, qualified as themselves are, 
and four in number for each delegate their county is 
entitled to send, who shall convene, and conduct them- 
selves, in such manner as the legislature shall direct, 
with the senatorial electors from the other counties of 
their district, and then choose, by ballot, one senator 
for every six delagates which their district is entitled to 
choose. Let the senatorial districts be divided into 
two classes, and let the members elected for one of 
them be dissolved at the first ensuing general election 
of delegates, the other at the next, and so on alternate- 
ly for ever. 

All free male citizens, of full age, and sane mind, 
who for one year before shall have been resident in 
the county, or shall through the whole of that time 
have possessed therein real property of the value of 
or shall for the same time have been 
enrolled in the militia, and no others, shall have a right 
to vote for delegates for the said county, and for sena- 
torial electors for the district. They shall give their 
votes personally, and viva voce. 

The general assembly shall meet at the place to 
wjiich the last adjournment was, on the 42d day after 
the day of election of delegates, and thenceforward at 
any other time or place on their own adjournment, till 
their office expires, which shall be on the day preced- 
ing that appointed for the meeting of the next general 
assembly. But if they shall at any time adjourn for 
more than one year, it shall be as if they had adjourned 
for one year precisely. Neither house, without the con- 
currence of the other, shall adjourn for more than one 
week, nor to any other place than the one at which 
they are sitting. The governor shall also have power, 
with the advice of the council of state, to call them at 
any other time to the same place, or to a different one, 
if that shall have become since the last adjournment, 
dangerous from an enemy, or from infection. 



225 



A majority of either house shall be a quorum, and 
shall be requisite for doing business: but any smaller 
proportion which from time to time shall be thought 
expedient by the respective houses, shall be sufficient 
to call for, and to punish, their nonattending members, 
and to adjourn themselves for any time not exceeding 
one week. 

The members, during their attendance on the general 
assembly, and for so long a time before and after as 
shall be necessary for travelling to and from the same, 
shall be privileged from all personal restraint and as- 
sault, and shall have no other privilege whatsoever. 
They shall receive during the same time, daily wages 
in gold or silver, equal to the value of two bushels of 
wheat. This value shall be deemed one dollar by the 
bushel till the, year 1790, in which, and in every tenth 
year thereafter, the general court, at their first sessions 
in the year, shall cause a special jury, of the most re- 
spectable merchants and farmers, to be summoned, to 
declare what shall have been the averaged value of 
wheat during the last ten years; which averaged value 
shall be the measure of wages for the ten subsequent 
years. 

Of this general assembly, the treasurer, attorney- 
general, register, ministers of the gospel, officers of 
the regular armies of this state, or of the United States, 
persons receiving salaries or emoluments from any 
power foreign to our confederacy, those who are not 
resident in the county for which they are chosen dele- 
gates, or districts for which they are chosen senators, 
those who are not qualified as electors, persons who 
shall have committed treason, felony, or such other 
crime as would subject them to infamous punishment, 
or who shall have been convicted by due course of law 
of bribery or corruption, in endeavouring to procure an 
election to the said assembly, shall be incapable of be- 
ing members. All others, not herein elsewhere exclud- 
ed, who may elect, shall be capable of being elected 
thereto. 



226 



Any member of the said assembly accepting any of- 
fice of profit under this state, or the United States, or 
any of them, shall thereby vacate his seat, but shall be 
capable of being reelected. 

Vacancies occasioned by such disqualifications, by 
death, or otherwise, shall be supplied by the electors, 
on a writ from the speaker of the respective house. 

The general assembly shall not have power to in- 
fringe this constitution ; to abridge the civil rights of 
any person on account of his religious belief; to restrain 
him from professing and supporting that belief, or to 
compel him to contributions, other than those he shall 
have personally stipulated for the support of that or 
any other; to ordain death for any crime but treason 
or murder, or military offences; to pardon, or give a 
power of pardoning persons duty convicted of treason 
or felony, but instead thereof they may substitute one 
or two new trials, and no more; to pass laws for pun- 
ishing actions done before the existence of such laws; 
to pass any bill of attainder of treason or felony ; to 
prescribe torture in any case whatever : nor to permit 
the introduction of any more slaves to reside in this 
state, or the continuance of slavery beyond the genera- 
tion which shall be living on the thirty-first day of De- 
cember, one thousand eight hundred: all persons born 
after that day being hereby declared free. 

The general assembly shall have power to sever 
from this state all or any part of its territory west- 
ward of the Ohio, or of the meridian of the mouth 
of the Great Kanhaway, and to cede to Congress one 
hundred square miles of territory in any other part 
of this state, exempted from the jurisdiction and go- 
vernment of this state so long as Congress shall hold 
their sessions therein, or in any territory adjacent 
thereto, which may be ceded to them by any other 
state. 

They shall have power to appoint the speakers of 
their respective houses, treasurer, auditors, attorney- 
general, register, all general officers of the military, 
their own clerks and Serjeants, and no other officers, 



227 



except where, in other parts of this constitution, such 
appointment is expressly given them. 

The executive powers shall be exercised by a Go- 
vernor, who shall be chosen by joint ballot of both 
houses of assembly, and when chosen shall remain in 
office five years, and be ineligible a second time. Du- 
ring his term he shall hold no other office or emolu- 
ment under this state, or any other state or power 
whatsoever. By executive powers, we mean no refer- 
ence to those powers exercised under our former gov- 
ernment by the crown as of its prerogative, nor that 
these shall be the standard of what may or may not be 
deemed the rightful powers of the governor. We give 
him those powers only, which are necessary to execute 
the laws (and administer the government) and which 
are not in their nature either legislative or judiciary. 
The application of this idea must be left to reason. We 
do however expressly deny him the prerogative powers 
of erecting courts, offices, boroughs, corporations, fairs, 
markets, ports, beacons, light-houses, and sea-marks ; 
of laying embargoes, of establishing precedence, of re- 
taining within the state, or recalling to it any citizens 
thereof, and of making denizens, except so far as he 
may be authorized from time to time by the legislature 
to exercise any of those powers. The power of de- 
claring war and concluding peace, of contracting allian- 
ces, of issuing letters of marque and reprisal, of raising 
and introducing armed forces, of building armed ves- 
sels, forts, or strong holds, of coining money or regu- 
lating its value, of regulating weights and measures, we 
leave to be exercised under the authority of the confed- 
eration : but in all cases respecting them which are out 
of the said confederation, they shall be exercised by the 
governor, under the regulation of such laws as the leg- 
islature may think it expedient to pass. 

The whole military of the state, whether regular, or 
of militia, shall be subject to his directions ; but he shall 
leave the execution of those directions to the general 
officers appointed by the legislature. 



228 



His salary shall be fixed by the legislature at the 
session of the assembly in which he shall be appoint- 
ed, and before such appointment be made ; or if it be 
not then fixed, it shall be the same which his next 
predecessor in office was entitled to. In either case 
he may demand it quarterly out of any money which 
shall be in the public treasury; and it shall not be in 
the power of the legislature to give him less or more, 
either during his continuance in office, or after he shall 
have gone out of it. The lands, houses, and other 
things appropriated to the use of the governor, shall 
remain to his use during his continuance in office. 

A Council of State shall be chosen by joint ballot of 
both houses of assembly, who shall hold their offices 
seven years, and be ineligible a second time, and who, 
while they shall be of the said council, shall hold no other 
office or emolument under this state, or any other state 
or power whatsoever. Their duty shall be to attend 
and advise the governor when called on by him, and 
their advice in any case shall be a sanction to him. 
They shall also have power, and it shall be their duty, 
to meet at their own will, and to give their advice, 
though not required by the governor, in cases where 
they shall think the public good calls for it. Their ad- 
vice and proceedings shall be entered in books to be 
kept for that purpose, and shall be signed as approved 
or disapproved by the members present. These books 
shall be laid before either house of assembly when call- 
ed for by them. The said council shall consist of eight 
members for the present: but their numbers may be in- 
creased or reduced by the legislature, whenever they 
shall think it necessary: provided such reduction be 
made only as the appointments become vacant by death, 
resignation, disqualification, or regular deprivation. A 
majority of their actual number, and not fewer, shall 
be a quorum. They shall be allowed for the present 
each by the year, payable quarterly out of any 
money which shall be in the public treasury. Their 
salary, however, may be increased or abated from 



229 



time to time, at the discretion of the legislature \ 
provided such increase or abatement shall not, by any 
ways or means, be made to affect either then, or at 
any future time, any one of those then actually in of- 
fice. At the end of each quarter their salary shall 
be divided into equal portions by the number of days 
on which, during that quarter, a council has been held, 
or required by the governor, or by their own adjourn- 
ment, and one of those portions shall be withheld from 
oach member for every of the said days, which, with- 
out cause allowed good by the board, he failed to at- 
tend, or departed before adjournment without their 
leave. If no board should have been held during that 
quarter, there shall be no deduction. 

They shall annually choose a President, who shall 
preside in council in the absence of the governor, and 
who in case of his office becoming vacant by death or 
otherwise, shall have authority to exercise all his func- 
tions, till a new appointment be made, as he shall also 
in any interval during which the governor shall de- 
clare himself unable to attend to the duties of his of- 
fice. 

The Judiciary powers shall be exercised by county 
courts and such other inferior courts as the legislature 
shall think proper to continue or to erect, by three su- 
perior courts, to wit, a Court of Admiralty, a general 
Court of Common Law, and a high Court of Chancery ; 
and by one Supreme Court, to be called the Court of 
Appeals. 

The judges of the high court of chancery, general 
court, and court of admiralty, shall be four in number 
each, to be appointed by joint ballot of both houses of 
assembly, and to hold their offices during good beha- 
viour. While they continue judges, they shall hold no 
other office or emolument, under this state, or any 
other state or power whatsoever, except that they may 
be delegated to Congress, receiving no additional al- 
lowance. 

These judges, assembled together, shall constitute the 
Court of Appeals, whose business shall be to receive 
20 



/ 



230 



and determine appeals from the three superior courts, 
but to receive no original causes, except in the cases 
expressly permitted herein. 

A majority of the members of either of these courts, 
and not fewer, shall be a quorum. But in the Court of 
Appeals nine members shall be necessary to do busi- 
ness. Any smaller numbers however may be author- 
ized by the legislature to adjourn their respective 
courts. 

They shall be allowed for the present 
each by the year, payable quarterly out of any money 
which shall be in the public treasury. Their salaries 
however may be increased or abated, from time to time, 
at the discretion of the legislature, provided such in- 
crease or abatement shall not by any ways or means, 
be made to affect, either then, or at any future time, 
any one of those then actually in office. At the end of 
each quarter their salary shall be divided into equal 
portions by the number of days on which, during that 
quarter, their respective courts sat, or should have sat, 
and one of these portions shall be withheld from each 
member for every of the said days, which, without 
cause allowed good by his court, he failed to attend, or 
departed before adjournment without their leave. If 
no court should have been held during the quarter, 
there shall be no deduction. 

There shall moreover be a Court of Impeachments to 
consist of three members of the Council of State, one 
of each of the superior Courts of Chancery, Common 
Law, and Admiralty, two members of the house of de- 
legates and one of the Senate, to be chosen by the body 
respectively of which they are. Before this court any 
member of the three branches of government, that is to 
say, the governor, any member of the council, of the 
two houses of legislature, or of the superior courts, may 
be impeached by the governor, the council, or either of 
the said houses or courts, and by no other, for such 
misbehaviour in office as would be sufficient to remove 
him therefrom; and the only sentence they shall have 
authority to pass shall be that of deprivation and future 



231 



incapacity of office. Seven members shall be requisite 
to make a court, and two thirds of those present must 
concur in the sentence. The offences cognizable by 
this court shall be cognizable by no other, and they 
shall be triers of the fact as well as judges of the law. 

The justices or judges of the inferior courts already 
erected, or hereafter to be erected, shall be appointed 
by the governor, on advice of the council of state, and 
shall hold their offices during good behaviour, or the 
existence of their court. For breach of the good beha- 
viour, they shall be tried according to the laws of the 
land, before the Court of Appeals who shall be judges 
of the fact as well as of the law. The only sentence 
they shall have authority to pass, shall be that of depri- 
vation and future incapacity of office, and two thirds of 
the members present must concur in this sentence. 

All courts shall appoint their own clerks, who shall 
hold their offices during good behaviour, or the exist- 
ence of their court ; they shall also appoint all other 
their attending officers to continue during their plea- 
sure. Clerks appointed by the supreme or the superior 
courts shall be removable by their respective courts. 
Those to be appointed by other courts shall have been 
previously examined, and certified to be duly qualified, 
by some two members of the general court, and shall 
be removable for breach of good behaviour by the 
Court of Appeals only, who shall be judges of the fact 
as well as of the law. Two thirds of the members 
present must concur in the sentence. 

The justices or judges of the inferior courts may be 
members of the legislature. 

The judgment of no inferior court shall be final, in 
any civil case, of greater value than 50 bushels of wheat, 
as last rated in the general court for settling the allow- 
ance to the members of the general assembly, nor in 
any case of treason, felony, or other crime which should 
subject the party to infamous punishment. 

In all causes depending before any court, other than 
those of impeachments, of appeals, and military courts, 
facts put in issue shall be tried by jury, and in all courts 



232 



whatever witnesses shall give testimony viva voce in 
open court, wherever their attendance can be procured : 
and all parties shall he allowed counsel and compulsory 
process for their witnesses. 

Fines, amercements, and terms of imprisonment left 
indefinite by the law, other than for contempts, shall be 
fixed by the jury, triers of the offence. 

The governor, two councillors of state, and a judge 
from each of the superior Courts of Chancery, Common 
Law, and Admiralty, shall be a council to revise all bills 
which shall have passed both houses of assembly, in 
which council the governor, w r hen present, shall pre- 
side. Every bill, before it becomes a law, shall be re- 
presented to this council, who shall have a right to ad- 
vise its rejection, returning the bill, with their advice 
and reasons in writing, to the house in which it origin- 
ated, who shall proceed to reconsider the said bill. But 
if after such reconsideration, two thirds of the house 
shall be of opinion the bill should pass finally, they shall 
pass and send it, with the advice and written reasons 
of the said Council of Revision to the other house r 
wherein if two thirds also shall be of opinion it should 
pass finally, it shall thereupon become law : otherwise 
it shall not. 

If any bill, presented to the said council, be not, with- 
in one week (exclusive of the day of presenting it) re- 
turned by them, with their advice of rejection and 
reasons, to the house wherein it originated, or to the 
clerk of the said house, in case of its adjournment over 
the expiration of the week, it shall be law from the ex- 
piration of the week, and shall then be demandable by 
the clerk of the House of Delegates, to be filed of re- 
cord in his office. 

The bills which they approve shall become law from 
the time of such approbation, and shall then be return- 
ed to, or demandable by, the clerk of the House of De- 
legates, to be filed of record in his office. 

A bill rejected on advice of the Council of Revision 
may again be proposed, during the same session of as- 
sembly, with such alterations as will render it conform- 
able to their advice. 



233 



The members of the said Council of Revision shall 
be appointed from time to time by the board or court of 
which they respectively are. Two of the executive and 
two of the judiciary members shall be requisite to do 
business : and to prevent the evils of nonattendance, 
the board and courts may, at any time, name all, or so 
many as they will, of their members, in the particular 
order in which they would choose the duty of attend- 
ance to devolve from preceding to subsequent members, 
the preceding failing to attend. x They shall have addi- 
tionally for their services in this council the same al- 
lowance as members of assembly have. 

The confederation is made a part of this constitution, 
subject to such future alterations as shall be agreed to 
by the legislature of this state, and by all the other con- 
federating states. 

The delegates to Congress shall be five in number ; 
any three of whom, and no fewer, may be a represen- 
tation. They shall be appointed by joint ballot of both 
houses of assembly for any term not exceeding one 
year, subject to be recalled, within the term, by joint 
vote of both the said houses. They may at the same 
time be members of the legislative or judiciary depart- 
ments, but not of the executive. 

The benefits of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall be 
extended, by the legislature, to every person within this 
state, and without fee, and shall be so facilitated that 
no person may be detained in prison more than ten 
days after he shall have demanded and been refused 
such writ by the judge appointed by law, or if none be 
appointed, then by any judge of a superior court, nor 
more than ten days after such writ shall have been 
served on the person detaining him, and no order giv- 
en, on due examination, for his remandment or dis- 
charge. 

The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. 

Priming presses shall be subject to no other restraint 
than liableness to legal prosecution for false facts print- 
ed and published. 

Any two of the three branches of government con- 
2G* 



234 

curring in opinion, each by the voices of two thirds of 
their whole existing number, that a convention is 
necessary for altering this. constitution, or correcting 
breaches of it, they shall be authorized to issue writs 
to ever} 7 county for the election of so many delegates 
as they are authorized to send to the general assem- 
bly, which elections shall be held, and writs returned, 
as the laws shall have provided in the case of elections 
of delegates of assembly, mutatis mutandis, and the said 
delegates shall meet at the usual place of holding as- 
semblies, three months after date of such writs, and 
shall be acknowledged to have equal powers with this 
present convention. The said writs shall be signed by 
all the members approving the same. 

To introduce this Gove?mment, the following special 
and temporary provision is made. 

This convention being authorized only to amend 
those laws which constituted the form of government, 
no general dissolution of the whole system of laws can 
be supposed to have taken place: but all laws in force 
at the meeting of this convention, and not inconsistent 
with this constitution, remain in full force, subject to 
alterations by the ordinary legislature. 

The present general assembly shall continue till the 
42d day after the last Monday of November in this pre- 
sent year. On the said last Monday of November in 
this present year, the several counties shall by their 
electors qualified as provided by this constitution, elect 
delegates, which for the present shall be, in number, 
one for every militia of the said count} 7 , ac- 

cording to the latest returns in possession of the go- 
vernor, and shall also choose senatorial electors in pro- 
portion thereto, which senatorial electors shall meet on 
the 14th day after the day of their election, at the court 
house of that county of their present district which 
would stand first in an alphabetical arrangement of 
their counties, and shall choose senators in the propor- 
tion fixed by this constitution. The elections and re- 
turns shall be conducted, in all circumstances not hereby 
particularly prescribed, by the same persons and under 



235 



the same forms, as prescribed by the present laws in 
elections of senators and delegates of assembly. The 
said senators and delegates shall constitute the first ge- 
neral assembly of the new government, and shall spe- 
cially apply themselves to the procuring an exact return 
from every county of the number of its qualified elec- 
tors, and to the settlement of the number of delegates 
to be elected for the ensuing general assembly. 

The present governor shall continue in office to the 
end of the term for which he was elected. 

All other officers of every kind shall continue in of- 
fice as they would have done had their appointment 
been under this constitution, and new ones, where new 
are hereby called for, shall be appointed by the autho- 
rity to which such appointment is referred. One of the 
present judges of the general court, he consenting 
thereto, shall by joint ballot of both houses of assembly, 
at their first meeting, be transferred to the High Court 
of Chancery. 



No. in. 

An ACT for establishing Religious Freedom, passed 
in the Assembly of Virginia in the beginning of the year 
1786. 

Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind 
free ; that all attempts to influence it by temporal pun- 
ishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend 
only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and 
are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of 
our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, 
yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, 
as was in his Almighty power to do ; that the impious 
presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as 
ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and 
uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith 
of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of 
thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such en- 



236 



deavouring to impose them on others, hath established 
and maintained false religions over the greatest part of 
the world, and through all time ; that to compel a man 
to furnish contributions of money for the propagation 
of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyranni- 
cal ; that even the forcing him to support this or that 
teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him 
of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to 
the particular pastor whose morals he would make his 
pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to 
righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry 
those temporal rewards which proceeding from an ap- 
probation of their personal conduct, are an additional 
incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the 
instruction of mankind ; that our civil rights have no 
dependence on our religious opinions, more than our 
opinions in physics or geometry ; that therefore the 
proscribing an}* citizen as unworthy the public confi- 
dence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called 
to the offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess 
or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving 
him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to 
which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a na- 
tural right ; that it tends also to corrupt the principles 
of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by brib- 
ing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emolu- 
ments, those who will externally profess and conform 
to it : that though indeed these are criminal who do not 
withstand such temptation, yet neither are those inno- 
cent who lay the bait in their way ; that to suffer the 
civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of 
opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of 
principles, on the supposition of their ill tendency, is a 
dangerous fallac3 T , which at once destroys all religious 
liberty, because he being of course judge of that ten- 
dency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and 
approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as 
they shall square with or differ from his own ; that it is 
time enough for the rightful purposes of civil govern- 
ment, for its officers to interfere w T hen principles break 



237 



out into overt acts against peace and good order ; and 
finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to her- 
self, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to 
error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless 
by human interposition disarmed of her natural wea- 
pons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be 
dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict 
them. 

Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That 
ho man shall be compelled to frequent or support any 
religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor 
shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in 
his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account 
of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men 
shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, 
their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same 
shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil 
capacities. 

And though we well know that this Assembly, elect- 
ed by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation 
only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding 
Assemblies, constituted with the power equal to our 
own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable, 
would be of no effect in law, yet we are free to declare, 
and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of 
the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall 
be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow 
its operation, such act will be an infringement of natu- 
ral right. 



AN 



APPENDIX 



TO THE 



NOTES ON VIRGINIA, 



RELATIVE TO THE MURDER OF LOGAN'S FAMILY. 



A LETTER TO GOVERNOR HENRY, OF MARYLAND. 

Philadelphia, December 31st, 1797. 

Dear Sir, 

Mr. Tazewell has communicated to me the en- 
quiries you have been so kind as to make, relative to a 
passage in the Notes on Virginia, which has lately ex- 
cited some newspaper publications. I feel, with great 
sensibility, the interest you take in this business, and 
with pleasure, go into explanations with one whose ob- 
jects I know to be truth and justice alone. Had Mr. 
Martin thought proper to suggest to me, that doubts 
might be entertained of the transaction respecting Lo- 
gan, as stated in the Notes on Virginia, and to enquire 
on what grounds the statement was founded, I should 
have felt myself obliged by the enquiry, have informed 
him candidly of the grounds, and cordially have co- 
operated in every means of investigating the fact, and 
correcting whatsoever in it should be found to have 
been erroneous. But he chose to step at once into the 
newspapers, and in his publications there and the let- 
ters he wrote to me, adopted a style which forbade the 
respect of an answer. Sensible, however, that no act 
of his could absolve me from the justice due to others, 
as soon as I found that the story of Logan could be 



/ 



239 



doubted, I determined to enquire into it as accurately 
as the testimony remaining, after a lapse of twenty odd 
years, would permit; and that the result should be 
made known, either in the first new edition which 
should be printed of the Notes on Virginia, or by pub- 
lishing an Appendix. I thought that so far as that 
work had contributed to impeach the memory of 
Cresap, by handing on an erroneous charge, it was 
proper it should be made the vehicle of retribution. 
Not that I was at all the author of the injury. I had 
only concurred, with thousands and thousands of others, 
in believing a transaction on authority which merited 
respect. For the story of Logan is only repeated in 
the Notes on Virginia, precisely as it had been current 
for more than a dozen years before they were publish- 
ed. When Lord Dunmore returned from the expedi- 
tion against the Indians, in 1774, he and his officers 
brought the speech of Logan, and related the circum- 
stances connected with it. These were so affecting, 
and the speech itself so fine a morsel of eloquence, that 
it became the theme of every conversation, in Williams- 
burgh particularly, and generally, indeed, wheresoever 
any of the officers resided or resorted. I learned it in 
Williamsburgh ; I believe at Lord Dnnmore's ; and I 
find in my pocket-book of that year (1774) an entry of 
the narrative, as taken from the mouth of some person, 
whose name, however, is not noted, nor recollected, pre- 
cisely in the words stated in the Notes on Virginia. 
The speech was published in the Virginia Gazette of 
that time (I have it myself in the volume of gazettes of 
that year) and though in a style by no means elegant, yet 
it was so admired, that it flew through all the public pa- 
pers of the continent, and through the magazines and 
other periodical publications of Great Britain ; and those 
who were boys at that day will now attest, that the 
speech of Logan used to be given them as a school ex- 
ercise for repetition. It was not till about thirteen or 
fourteen years after the newspaper publications, that the 
Notes on Virginia were published in America. Com- 
bating in these, the contumelious theory of certain 



240 



European writers, whose celebrity gave currency and 
Weight to their opinions, that our country, from the 
combined effects of soil and climate, degenerated ani- 
mal nature, in the general, and particularly the moral 
faculties of man, I considered the speech of Logan as 
an apt proof of the contrary, and used it as such ; and 
I copied, verbatim, the narrative I had taken down in 
1774 and the speech as it had been given us in a better 
translation by Lord Dunmore. I knew nothing of the 
Cresaps, and could not possibly have a motive to do them 
an injury with design. I repeated what thousands had 
done before, on as good authority as we have for most 
of the facts we learn through life, and such as, to this 
moment, I have seen no reason to doubt. That anybo- 
dy questioned it, was never suspected by me, till I saw 
the letter of Mr Martin in the Baltimore paper. I en- 
deavoured then to recollect who among my contempora- 
ries, of the same circle of society, and consequently of 
the same recollections, might still be alive. Three and 
twenty years of death and dispersion had left very few. 
I remembered, however, that Gen. Gibson was still li- 
ving, and knew that he had been the translator of the 
speech. I wrote to him immediately. He, in answer, 
declares to me, that he was the very person sent by Lord 
Dunmore to the Indian town; that, after he had deliver- 
ed his message there, Logan took him out to a neigh- 
bouring wood ; sat down with him, and rehearsing, with 
tears, the catastrophe of his family, gave him that 
speech for Lord Dunmore ; that he carried it to Lord 
Dunmore ; translated it for him ; has turned to it in the 
Encyclopedia, as taken from the Notes on Virginia, and 
finds that it was his translation I had used, with -only 
two or three verbal variations of no importance. These, 
I suppose, had arisen in the course of successive co- 
pies. I cite Gen. Gibson's letter by memory, not ha- 
ving it with me ; but I am sure I cite it substantially 
right. It establishes unquestionably, that the speech 
of Logan is genuine ; -and that being established, it is 
Logan himself who is author of all the important facts. 
ei Col Oresap," says he, 66 m cold blood and nnprovok 



241 



ed, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing 
even my women and children. There runs not a drop 
of my blood in the veins of any living creature." The 
person and the fact, in a!l its material circumstances, 
are here given by Logan himself. Gen. Gibson, indeed, 
says, that the title was mistaken ; that Cresap was a 
captain, and not a colonel. This was Logan's mistake. 
He also observes, that it was on the Ohio, and not on 
the Kanhaway itself, that his family was killed. This is 
an error which has crept into the traditionary account ; 
but surely of little moment in the moral view of the sub- 
ject. The material question is; was Logan's family 
murdered, and by whom? That it was murdered has 
not, 1 believe, been denied ; that it was by one of the 
Cresaps, Logan affirms. This is a question which con- 
cerns the memories of Logan and Cresap ; to the issue 
of which I am as indifferent as if 1 had never heard the 
name of either. 1 have begun and shall continue to en- 
quire into the evidence additional to Logan's, on which 
the fact was founded. Little, indeed, can now be heard 
of, and that little dispersed and distant. If it shall ap- 
pear on enquiry, that Logan has been wrong in charging 
Cresap with the murder of his family, I will do justice 
to the memory of Cresap, as far as 1 have contributed 
to the injury, by believing and repeating what others 
had believed and repeated before me. If, on the other 
hand, 1 find that Logan was right in his charge, I will 
vindicate, as far as my suffrage may go, the truth of a 
Chief, whose talents and misfortunes have attached to 
him the respect and commiseration of the world. 

1 have gone, my dear Sir, into this lengthy detail to 
satisfy a mind, in the candour and rectitude of which I 
have the highest confidence. So far as you may incline 
to use the communication for rectifying the judgments 
of those who are willing to see things truly as they are, 
you are free to use it. But I pray that no confidence 
which you may repose in any one, may induce you to 
let it go out of your hands, so as to get into a newspaper. 
Against a contest in that field I am entirely decided. I 
feel extraordinary gratification, indeed, in addressing 
21 



242 



this letter to you, with whom shades of difference in 
political sentiment have not prevented the interchange 
of good opinion, nor cut off the friendly offices of so- 
ciety and good correspondence. This political tole- 
rance is the more valued by me, who consider social 
harmony as the first of human felicities, and the hap- 
piest moments, those which are given to the effusions 
of the heart. Accept them sincerely, I pray you, from 
one who has the honour to be, with sentiments of high 
respect and attachment, 
Dear Sir, 
Your most obedient 

And most humble servant, 

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



The Notes on Virginia were written in Virginia, 
in the years 1781 and 1782, in answer to certain que- 
ries proposed to me by Mons. De Marbois, then secre- 
tary of the French Legation in the United States ; and 
a manuscript copy was delivered to him. A few copies, 
with some additions, were afterwards, in 1784, printed 
in Paris, and given to particular friends. In speaking 
of the animals of America, the theory of M. de BufFon, 
the Abbe Raynal, and others presented itself to consid- 
eration. They have supposed there is something in 
the soil, climate, and other circumstances of i^merica, 
which occasions animal nature to degenerate, not ex- 
cepting even the man, native or adoptive, physical or 
moral. This theory, so unfounded and degrading to one 
third of the globe, was called to the bar of fact and rea- 
son. Among other proofs adduced in contradiction of 
this hypothesis, the speech of Logan, an Indian chief, 
delivered to Lord Dunmore in 1774, was produced, as a 
specimen of the talents of the aboriginals of this coun- 
try, and particularly of their eloquence ; and it was be- 
lieved that Europe had never produced any thing supe- 
rior to this morsel of eloquence. In order to make it 
intelligible to the reader, the transaction, on which it 
was founded, was stated, as it had been generally rela- 



243 



ted in America at the time, and as I had heard it my- 
self, in the circle of Lord Dunmore, and the officers 
who accompanied him : and the speech itself was given 
as it had, ten years before the printing of that book, cir- 
culated in the newspapers through all the then colonies, 
through the magazines of Great-Britain, and the peri- 
odical publications of Europe. For three and twenty 
years it passed uncontradicted ; nor was it ever suspect- 
ed that it even admitted contradiction. In 1797, how- 
ever, for the first time, not only the whole transaction 
respecting Logan was affirmed in the public papers to 
be false, but the speech itself suggested to be a forgery, 
and even a forgery of mine, to aid me in proving that 
the man of America was equal in body and in mind, to 
the man in Europe. But wherefore the forgery; whe- 
ther Logan's or mine, it would still have been Ameri- 
can. I should indeed consult my own fame if the sug- 
gestion, that this speech is mine, were suffered to be 
believed. He would. have a just right to be proud who 
could with truth claim that composition. But it is none 
of mine ; and I yield it to whom it is due. 

On seeing then that this transaction was brought into 
question, I thought it my duty to make particular enquiry 
into its foundation. Jt was the more my duty, as it was 
alleged that, by ascribing to an individual therein nam- 
ed, a participation in the murder of Logan's family, I 
had done an injury to his character, which it had not 
deserved. I had no knowledge personally of that indi- 
vidual. I had no reason to aim an injury at him. I only 
repeated what I had heard from others, and what thou- 
sands had heard and believed as well as myself; and 
which no one indeed, till then, had been known to ques- 
tion. Twenty-three years had now elapsed, since the 
transaction took place. Many of those acquainted with 
it were dead, and the living dispersed to very distant 
parts of the earth. Few of them were even known to 
me. To those however of whom I knew, I made ap- 
plication by letter; and some others, moved by a regard 
for truth and justice, were kind enough to come forward, 
of themselves, with their testimony. These fragments 



244 



of evidence, the small remains of a mighty mass which 
time has consumed, are here presented to the public, in 
the form of letters, certificates, or affidavits, as they 
came to me. I have rejected none of these forms, nor 
required other solemnities from those whose motives 
and characters were pledges of their truth. Historical 
transactions are deemed to be well vouched by the 
simple declarations of those who have borne a part in 
them ; and especially of persons having no interest to 
falsify or disfigure them. The world will now see 
whether they, or I, have injured Cresap, by believing 
Logan's charge against him ; and they will decide be- 
tween Logan and Cresap, whether Cresap was inno- 
cent, and Logan a calumniator? 

In order that the reader may have a clear conception 
of the transactions, to which the different parts of the 
following declarations refer, he must take notice that 
they establish four different murders. 1. Of two In- 
dians, a little above Wheeling. 2. Of others at Grave 
Creek, among whom were some of Logan's relations. 
3. The massacre at Baker's bottom, on the Ohio, oppo- 
site the mouth of Yellow Creek, where were other re- 
lations of Logan. 4. Of those killed at the same place, 
coming in canoes to the relief of their friends. I place 
the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, against certain paragraphs of 
the evidence, to indicate the particular murder to which 
the paragraph relates, and present also a small sketch 
or map of the principal scenes of those butcheries, for 
their more ready comprehension. 



245 



Extract of a Letter from the Honourable Judge 1JYJVES, of 
Frankfort in Kentucky, to THOMJS JEFFERSON, 
dated Kentucky, near Frankfort, March 2d, 1799. 

I recollect to have seen Logan's speech in 1775, in 
one of the public prints. That Logan conceived Cresap 
to be the author of the murder at Yellow Creek, it is in 
my power to give, perhaps, a more particular informa- 
tion, than any other person you can apply to. 

In 1774 I lived in Fincastle county, now divided into 
Washington, Montgomery, and part of Wythe. Being 
intimate in Col. Preston's family, I happened in July to 
be at his house, when an express was sent to him as 
the County Lieut, requesting a guard of the militia to 
be ordered out for the protection of the inhabitants re- 
siding low down on the north fork of Holston river. 
The Express brought with him a War Club, and a note 
which was left tied to it at the house of one Robertson, 
whose family were cut off by the Indians, and gave rise 
for the application to Col. Preston, of which the follow- 
ing is a copy, then taken by me in my memorandum 
book. 

" Captain Cresap, 
" What did you kill my people on Yellow Creek for ? 
The white people killed my kin, at Conestoga, a great 
while ago ; and I thought nothing of that. But you 
killed my kin again, on Yellow Creek, and took my 
Cousin prisoner. Then I thought I must kill too ; and 
I have been three times to war since ; but the Indians 
are not angry : only myself. 

" Captain JOHN LOGAN." 

July 21st, 1774. 

With great respect, I am, dear Sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

HARRY INNES. 

21* 



346 



Mleghaney County, ss. } 

State of Pennsylvania. $ 
Before me the subscriber, a justice of the peace in 
and for said county, personally appeared John Gibson, 
Esquire, an associate Judge of same county, who being 
duly sworn deposeth and saith that lie traded with the 
Shawnese and other tribes of Indians then settled on 
the Siota in the year 1773, and in the beginning of the 
year 1774, and that in the month of April of the same 
year, he left the same Indian towns, and came to this 
place, in order to procure some goods and provisions, 
that he remained here only a few days, and then set out 
in company with a certain Alexander Blaine and M. 
Elliott by water to return to the towns on Siota, and 
that one evening as they were drifting in their Canoes 
near the Long Reach on the Ohio, they were hailed by 
a number of white men on the South West Shore, who 
requested them to put ashore, as they had disagreeable 
news to inform them of; that we then landed on shore; 
and found amongst the party, a Major Angus M' Donald 
from West Chester, a Doctor Woods from the same 
place, and a party as they said of 150 men. We then 
asked the news. They informed us that some of the 
party who had been taken up, and improving lands near 
the Big Kanhaway river, had seen another party of 
white men, who informed them that they and some 
others had fell in with a party of Shawnese, who had 
been hunting on the South West side of the Ohio, that 
they had killed the whole of the Indian party, and that 
the others had gone across the country to C'seat river 
with the horses and plunder, the consequence of which 
they apprehended would be an Indian war, and that 
they were flying away. On making enquiry of them 
when this murder should have happened, we found that 
it must have been some considerable time before we 
left the Indian towns, and that there was not the small* 
est foundation for the report, as there was not a single 
man of the Shawnese, but what returned from hunting 
long before this should have happened. 

We then informed them that if they would agree to 



247 



remain at the place we then were, one of us would go 
to Hock Hockung river with some of their party, where 
we should find some of our people making Canoes, and 
that if we did not find them there, we might conclude 
that everything 1 was not right. Doctor Wood and an- 
other person then proposed going with me ; the rest of 
the party seemed to agree, but said they would send 
and consult captain Cresap who was about two miles 
from that place* They sent off for him, and during the 
greatest part of the night they behaved in the most dis- 
orderly manner, threatening to kill us, and saying the 
damned traders were worse than the Indians and ought 
to be killed. In the morning Captain Michael Cresap 
came to the camp. I then gave him the information as 
above related. They then met in Council, and after an 
hour or more captain Cresap returned to me, and in- 
formed that he could not prevail on them to adopt the 
proposal I had made to them, that as he had a great 
regard for Captain R. Callender, a brother in law of 
mine with whom I was connected in trade, lie advised 
me by no means to think of proceeding any further, as 
he was convinced the present party would fall on and 
kill every Indian they met on the river, that for his part 
he should not continue with them, but go right across 
the country to Red-Stone to avoid the consequences. 
That we then proceeded to Hocking and went up the 
same to the canoe place where we found our people at 
work, and after some days we proceeded to the towns 
on Siota by land. On our arrival there, we heard of 
the different murders committed by the party on their 
Way up the Ohio. 

This Deponent further saith that in the year 1 774 5 
he accompanied Lord Dunmore on the expedition 
against the Shawnese and other Indians on the Siota, 
that on their arrival within J 5 miles of the towns, they 
were met by a flag, and a white man of the name of 
Elliott, who informed Lord Dunmore that the Chiefs of 
the Shawnese had sent to request his Lordship to halt 
his army and send in some person, who understood 
their language ; that this Deponent, at the request of 



248 



Lord Dunmore and the whole of the officers with him, 
went in ; that on his arrival at the towns, Logan, the 
Indian, came to where this deponent was sitting with 
the Corn-Stalk, and the other chiefs of the Shawnese, 
and asked him to walk out with him ; that they went 
into a copse of wood, where they sat down, when Lo- 
gan, after shedding abundance of tears, delivered to him 
the speech, nearly as related by Mr. Jefferson in his 
notes on the State of Virginia ; that he the deponent 
told him then that it was not Col. Cresap who had mur- 
dered his relations, and that although his son captain 
Michael Cresap was with the party who killed a Shaw- 
nese chief and other Indians, yet he was not present 
when his relations were killed at Baker's, near the 
mouth of Yellow Creek on the Ohio ; that this Depo- 
nent on his return to camp delivered the speech to Lord 
Dunmore ; and that the murders perpetrated as above, 
were considered as ultimately the cause of the war of 
1774, commonly called Cresap's war. 

JOHN GIBSON. 
Sworn and subsc?ibed the Mh Aprils ) 
1800, at Pittsburg, before me, $ 
JER. BARKER. 



Extract of a Letter from Col. EBENEZER ZANE, 
to the honourable JOHN BROWN, one of the Sena- 
tors in Congress from Kentucky; dated Wheeling, 
Feb. 4th, 1800. 

I was myself, with many others, in the practice of 
making improvements on lands upon the Ohio, for 
the purpose of acquiring rights to the same. Being 
on the Ohio at the mouth of Sandy Creek, in com- 
pany with many others, news circulated that the In- 
dians had robbed some of the Land jobbers. This 
news induced the people generally to ascend the 
1 Ohio. I was among the number. On our arrival at 
the Wheeling, being informed that there were two 



249 



Indians with some traders near and above Wheeling, 
a proposition was made by the then captain Michael 
Cresap to way lay and kili the Indians upon the river. 
This measure J opposed with much violence, alleging 
that the killing of those Indians might involve the 
country in a war. But the opposite party prevailed, 
and proceeded up the Ohio with captain Cresap at 
their head. 

In a short time the party returned, and also the 
traders, in a canoe; but there were no Indians in the 
company. I enquired what had become of the In- 
dians, and was informed by the traders and Cresap's 
party that they had fallen overboard. I examined 
the canoe, and saw much fresh blood and some bullet 
holes in the canoe. This fully convinced me that the 
party had killed the two Indians, and thrown them 
into the river. 

On the afternoon of the day this action happened, 2 
a report prevailed that there was a camp, or party of 
Indians on the Ohio below and near the Wheeling. 
In consequence of this information, captain Cresap 
with his party, joined by a number of recruits, pro- 
ceeded immediately down the Ohio for the purpose, 
as was then generally understood, of destroying the 
Indians above mentioned. On the succeeding day, 
captain Cresap and his party returned to Wheeling, 
and it was generally reported by the party that they 
had killed a number of Indians. Of the truth of this 
report 1 had no doubt, as one of Cresap's party was 
badly wounded, and the party had a fresh scalp, and 
a quantity of property, which they called Indian 
plunder. At the time of the last mentioned transac- 
tion, it was generally reported, that the party of In- 
dians down the Ohio were Logan and his family; but 
I have reason to believe that this report was un- 
founded. 

Within a few days after the transaction above 3 
mentioned, a party of Indians were killed at Yellow 
Creek. But I must do the memory of captain Cre- 
sap the justice to say, that I do not believe that he 



250 



was present at the killing of the Indians at Yellow 
Creek. But there is not the least doubt in my mind, 
that the massacre at Yellow Creek was brought on 
by the two transactions first stated. 

All the transactions, which I have related happen- 
ed in the latter end of April 1774: and there can 
scarcely be a doubt that they were the cause of the 
war which immediately followed, commonly called 
Dunmore's War. 

1 am with much esteem, 
Yours, &c. 

EBENEZER ZANE. 



The Certificate of WILLIAM HUSTON, of Wash- 
ington counti) ', in the state of Pennsylvania, commu- 
nicated by DAVID RID DICK, Esquire, Prothono- 
tary of Washington county, Pennsylvania; ivho, in the' 
letter enclosing' it, says, "Mr WILLIAM HUSTON 
is a man of established reputation in point of integ- 
rity." 

I, William Huston, of Washington county, in the 
State of Pennsylvania, do hereby certify to whom it 
may concern, that in the year 1774, I resided at Cat- 
fishes camp, on the main path from Wheeling to Red- 
stone: that Michael Cresap, who resided on or near 
the Potowmac river, on his way up from the river 
Ohio, at the head of a party of armed men, lay some 
time at my cabin. 
2 I had previously heard the report of Mr Cresap 
having killed some Indians, said to be the relations 
of " Logan" an Indian Chief. In a variety of con- 
versations with several of Cresap's party, they boast- 
ed of the deed ; and that in the presence of their chief. 
They acknowledged they had fired first on the In- 
dians. They had with them one man on a litter, 
who was in the skirmish. 

I do further certify that, from what I learned from 



251 



the party themselves, I then formed the opinion, and 
have not had any reason to change the opinion since, 
that the killing, on the part of the whites, was what 3 
I deem the grossest murder. I further certify that 
some of the party, who afterwards killed some wo- 
men and other Indians at Baker's Bottom, also lay at 
my cabin, on their march to the interior part of the • 
county ; they had with them a little girl, whose life 
had been spared by the interference of some more 
humane than the rest. If necessary I will make affi- 
davit to the above to be true. Certified at Washing- 
ton, this 18th day of April, Anno Domini, 1798. 

WILLIAM HUSTON. 



The Certificate of JACOB JVEfVLAJVD, of Shelby 
County, Kentucky, communicated by the Hon. Judge 
Innes, of Kentucky. 

In the year 1774, I lived on the waters of Short 
Creek, a branch of the Ohio, 12 miles above Wheel- 
ing. Sometime in June or in July of that year, capt. 
Michael Cresap raised a party of men, and came out 
under col M'Daniel, of Hampshire County, Virginia, 
who commanded a detachment against the Wappo- 
tommaka towns on the Muskinghum. I met with 
capt. Cresap, at Redstone fort, and entered his com- 
pany. Being very well acquainted with him, we 
conversed freely ; and he, among other conversations, 
informed me several times of falling in with some In- 
dians on the Ohio some distance below the mouth of 2 
Yellow Creek, and killed two or three of them ; and 
that this murder was before that of the Indians by 
Great-house and others, at Yellow Creek. I do not 
recollect the reason which capt. Cresap assigned for 3 
committing the act, but never understood that the 
Indians gave any offence. Certified under my hand 
this 15th day of November, 1799, being an inhabitant 
of Shelby county, and state of Kentucky. 

JACOB NEWLANB, 



252 



The Certificate of JOHN djVDEBSOJY, a merchant 

in Fredericksburg, Virginia ; communicated by Mann 
Page, Esq. of Mansfield, near Fredericksburg, who, 
in the letter accompanying it, says, 4 Mr. John An- 
derson has for many years past been settled in Frede- 
ricksburg, in the mercantile line. I have known him 
in prosperous and adverse situations. He has al- 
ivays shown the greatest degree of equanimity, his 
honesty and veracity are unimpeachable. These 
things can be attested by all the respectable part of the 
town and neighbourhood of Fredericksburg. 

Mr. John Anderson, a merchant in Fredericksburg, 
says, that in the year 1774, being a trader in the In- 
dian country, he was at Pittsburg, to which place he 
had a cargo brought up the river in a boat navigated 
1 by a Delaware Indian and a white man. That on 
their return down the river, with a cargo, belonging 
to Messrs. Butler, Michael Cresap fired on the boat, 
and killed the Indian, after which two men of the 

3 name of Gntewood and others of the name of* Tum- 
blestone, who lived on the opposite side of the river 
from the Indians, with whom they were on the most 
friendly terms, invited a party of them to come over 
and drink with them ; and that, when the Indians 
were drunk, they murdered them to the number of 

4 six, among 1 whom was Logan's mother. That five 
other Indians uneasy at the absence of their friends, 
come over the river to enquire after them ; when 
they were fired upon, and two were killed, and the 
others wounded. This was the origin of the war. 

I certify the above to be true to the best of my re- 
collection. 

JOHN ANDERSON. 
Attest — DAVID BLAIR, 30th June 1798. 

* The popular pronunciation of Tomlinson, which was 
ike real name. 



253 



The deposition of JAMES CHAMBERS, communi- 
cated by David Riddick, Esq. Prothonotary of Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, who in the letter en- 
closing it shows that he entertains the most perfect 
confidence in the truth of Mr. Chambers, 

Washington County, sc. 

Personally came before me Samuel Shannon, Esq., 
one of the Commonwealth Justices for the county of 
Washington in the state of Pennsylvania, James 
Chambers, who being sworn according to law, de- 
poseth and saith that in the spring of the year 1774, 
he resided on the frontier near Baker's bottom on 
the Ohio: that he had an intimate companion, with 
whom he sometimes lived, named " Edward King:" 2 
That a report reached him that Michael Cresap had 
killed some Indians near Grave Creek, friends to an 
Indian, known by the name of " Logan That other 3 
of his friends, following down the river, having re- 
ceived intelligence, and fearing to proceed, lest Cre- 
sap might fall in with them, encamped near the 
mouth of Yellow Creek, opposite Baker's bottom ; 
That Daniel Great-house had determined to kill 
them ; had made the secret known to the deponent's 
companion, King : that the deponent was earnestly 
solicited to be of the party, and, as an inducement, 
was told that they would get a great deal of plunder ; 
and further, that the Indians would be made drunk 
by Baker, and that little danger would follow the ex- 
pedition. The deponent refused having any hand in 
killing unoffending people. His companion, King, 
went with Great-house, with divers others, some of 
whom had been collected at a considerable distance 
under an idea that Joshua Baker's family was in 
danger from the Indians, as war had been commen- 
ced between Cresap and them already ; that Edward 
King, as well as others of the party, did not conceal 
from the deponent the most minute circumstances of 
this affair ; they informed him that Great-house, con- 
22 



254 



cealing his people, went over to the Indian encamp- 
ments and counted their number-, and found that 
they were too large a party to attack with his strength ; 
that he had requested Joshua Baker, when any of 
them came to his house, (which they had been in the 
habit of,) to give them what rum they could drink, 
and to let him know when they were in a proper 
train, and that he would then fall on them ; that ac- 
cordingly they found several men and women at 
Baker's house ; that one of these women had caution- 
ed Great-house, when over in the Indian camp, that 
he had better return home, as the Indian men were 
drinking, and that having heard of Cresap's attack 
on their relations down the river, they were angry, 
and, in a friendly manner, told him to go home. 
Great-house, with his party, fell on them, and killed 
all except a little girl, which the deponent saw with 

4 the party after the slaughter: that the Indians in the 
camp hearing the firing, manned tw 7 o canoes, sup- 
posing their friends at Baker's to be attacked, as was 
supposed; the party under Great-house prevented 
their landing by a well directed fire, which did exe- 
cution in the canoes : that Edward King showed the 
deponent one of the scalps. The deponent further 
saith, that the settlements near the river broke up, 
and he the deponent immediately repaired to Cat- 
fish's camp, and lived some time with Mr. William 
Huston : -that not long after his arrival, Cresap, with 
his party, returning from the Ohio, came to Mr. Hus- 
ton's and tarried some time : that in various conver- 
sations with the party, and in particular with a Mr. 

2 Smith, who had one arm only, he was told that the 
Indians were acknowledged and known to be Lo- 
gan's friends which they had killed, and that he 
heard the party say, that Logan would probably 
avenge their deaths. 

They acknowledged that the Indians passed Cre- 
sap's encampment on the bank of the river in a 
peacable manner, and encamped 'below him ; that 
they went down and fired on the Indians, and killed 



255 



several ; that the survivors flew to their arms and 
fired on Cresap, and wounded one man, whom the 
deponent saw carrried on a litter by the party ; that 
the Indians killed by Cresap were not only Logan's 2 
relations, but of the women killed at Baker's one was 3 
said and generally believed to be Logan's sister. 
The deponent further saith, that on the relation of 
the Jittack by Cresap on the unoffending Indians, he 
exclaimed in their hearing, that it was an atrocious 
murder: on which Mr. Smith threatened the depo- 
nent with the tomahawk; so that he was obliged to 
be cautious, fearing an injury, as the party appeared 
to have lost, in a great degree, sentiments of human- 
ity as well as the effects of civilization. Sworn and 
subscribed at Washington, the 20th day of April, An- 
no Domini 1798. 

JAMES CHAMBERS. 
Before SAMUEL SHANNON. 



Washington County, sc. 

Seal *' David Reddick, prothonotary of the 
court of common pleas, for the county of 
Washington, in the state of Pennsylvania, do certify 
that Samuel Shannon, esq. before whom the within 
affdavit was made, was, at the time thereof, and still 
Is, a justice of the peace in and for the county of 
Washington aforesaid ; and that full credit is due to 
all his judicial acts as such as well in courts of jus- 
tice as thereout. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my 
hand and affixed the seal of my office at Wash- 
ington, the 26th day of April, Anno Dom. 1798. 

DAVID REDDiCK, 



256 



The Certificate of CHARLES POLKE, of Shelby 
County, in Kentucky, communicated by the hon. 
Judge Junes, of Kentucky, ivho in the letter enclosing 
it, together with Newland's certificate, and his own 
declaration of the information given him by Baker, 
says, " J am icell acquainted with Jacob JVewland, he 
is a man of integrity. Charles Polke and Joshua 
Baker both support respectable characters" 

About the latter end of April or beginning of May 
1774, I lived on the waters of Cross creek, about 16 
miles from Joshua Baker, who lived on the Ohio, op- 

3 posite the mouth of Yellow creek. A number of 
persons collected at my house, and proceeded to the 
said Baker's and murdered several Indians, among 
whom was a woman said to be the sister of the Indi- 
an chief, Logan. The principal leader of the party 
was Daniel Great-house. To the best of my recol- 
lection the cause which gave rise to the murders was, 
a general idea that the Indians were meditating an 
attack on the frontiers. Capt. Michael Cresap was 
not of the party ; but I recollect that some time be- 
fore the perpetration of the above fact it was current- 
ly reported that capt. Cresap had murdered some In- 

2 dians on the Ohio, one or two, some distance below 
Wheeling. 

Certified by me, an inhabitant of Shelby county 
and state of Kentucky, this loth day of November, 
1799. 

CHARLES POLKE. 



The Declaration of the hon. Judge INNES, of Frank- 
fort, in Kentucky. 

On the 14th of November, 1799,1 accidentally met 
upon the road Joshua Baker, the person referred to 
3 in the certificate signed by Polke, who informed me 
that the murder of the Indians in 1774, opposite the 



257 



mouth of Yellow creek, was perpetrated at his house 
by 32 men, led on by Daniel Great-house ; that 12 
were killed and 6 or 8 wounded ; among the slain 
was a sister and other relations of the Indian chief, 
Logan. Baker says, Captain Michael Cresap was 
not of the party ; that some days preceding the mur- 
der at his house two Indians left him and were on 
their way home; that they fell in with capt. Cresap 
and a party of land improvers on the Ohio, and were 
murdered, if not by Cresap himself, with his appro- 
bation ; he being the leader of the party, and that he 
had this information from Cresap. 

HARRY INNES. 



The Declaration of WILLIAM ROBINSON. 

William Robinson, of Clarksburg, in the county of 
Harrison, and state of Virginia, subscriber to these 
presents, declares that he was, in the year 1774, a 
resident on the west fork of Monongahela river, in 
the county then called West Augusta, and being in his 
field on the 12th of July, with two other men, they 
were surprised by a party of eight Indians, who shot 
down one of the others and made himself and the re- 
maining one prisoners ; this subscriber's wife and 
four children having been previously conveyed by 
him for safety to a fort about 24 miles off; that the 
principal Indian of the party which took them was 
captain Logan ; that Logan spoke English well, and 
very soon manifested a friendly disposition to this 
subscriber, and told him to be of good heart, that he 
would not be killed, but must go with him to his 
town, where he would probably be adopted in some 
of their families ; but above all things that he must 
not attempt to run away : that in the course of the 
journey to the Indian town he generally endeavoured 
to keep close to Logan, who had a great deal of con- 
versation with him, alwavs encouraging him to bo 
22* 



258 



cheerful and without fear ; for that he would not be 
killed, but should become one of them ; and constant- 
ly impressing on him not to attempt to run away ; 
that in these conversations he always charged capt. 
Michael Cresap with the murder of his family : that 
on his arrival in the town, which was on the 18th of 
July, he was tied to a stake, and a great debate arose 
whether he should not be burnt ; Logan insisted on 
having him adopted, while others contended to burn 
him : that at length Logan prevailed, tied a belt of 
wampum round him as the mark of adoption, loosed 
him from the post and carried him to the cabin of an 
old squaw, where Logan pointed out a person who he 
said was this subscriber's cousin ; and he afterwards 
understood that the old woman was his aunt, and 
two others his brothers, and that he now stood in the 
place of a warrior of the family who had been killed 
at Yellow creek ; that about three days after this 
Logan brought him a piece of paper, and told him he 
must write a letter for him, which he meant to carry 
and leave in some house where he should kill some- 
body ; that he made ink with gunpowder, and the 
subscriber proceeded to write the letter by his direc- 
tion, addressing captain Michael Cresap in it, and 
that the purport of it was, to ask " why he had killed 
his people ? That some time before they had killed 
his people at some place (the name of which the sub- 
scriber forgets) which he had forgiven ; but since 
that he had killed his people again at Yellow creek, 
and taken his cousin, a little girl, prisoner; that 
therefore he must war against the whites : but that 
he would exchange the subscriber for his cousin." 
And signed it with Logan's name, which letter Lo- 
gan took and set out again to war; and the contents 
of this letter, as recited by the subscriber, calling to 
mind, that stated by Judge Innes to have been left, 
tied U) a war club, in a house, where a family was 
murdered, and that being read to the subscriber, he 
recognises it, and declares he verily believes it to 
have been the identical letter which he wrote, and 



259 



supposes he was mistaken in stating^as he has done 
before from memory, that the offer of the exchange 
was proposed in the letter ; that it is probable it was 
only promised him by Logan, but not put in the let- 
ter ; while he was with the old woman, she repeated- 
ly endeavoured to make him sensible that she had 
been of the party at Yellow creek, and, by signs, 3 
showed how they decoyed her friends over the river 
to drink, and when they were reeling and tumbling 
about, tomahawked them all, and that whenever she 
entered on this subject she was thrown into the most 
violent agitations, and that he afterwards understood 
that, amongst the Indians killed at Yellow Creek, 
was a sister of Logan, very big with child, whom 
they ripped open, and stuck on a pole : that he con- 
tinued with the Indians till the month of November, 
when he was released in consequence of the peace 
made by them with Lord Dunmore : that, while he 
remained with them, the Indians in general were 
very kind to him ; and especially those who were 
his adopted relations; but above all, the old woman 
and family in which he lived, who served him with 
every thing in their power, and never asked, or even 
suffered him to do any labour, seeming in truth to 
consider and respect him, as the friend they had lost. 
All which several matters and things, so far as they 
are stated to be of his own knowledge, this subscrib- 
er solemnly declares to be true, and so far as they 
are stated on information from others, he believes 
them to be true. Given and declared under his hand 
at Philadelphia, this 28th day of February, 1800. 

WILLIAM ROBINSON. 



/ 



260 



The deposition of Col. William M'Kee of Lincoln Coun- 
ty, Kentucky, communicated by the Hon. John Brown, 
one of the Senators in Congress from Kentucky. 

Colonel William M'Kee of Lincoln county declareth, 
that in autumn J 774, he commanded as a captain in the 
Bottetonrt Regiment under Col. Andrew Lewis, after- 
wards Gen. Lewis : and fought in the battle at the 
mouth of the Kanhawa, on the 10th of October in that 
year. That after the battle, Col. Lewis marched the 
militia across the Ohio and proceeded towards the 
Shawnee Towns on Scioto ; but before they reached 
the Towns, Lord Dunmore who* was commander in 
chief of the army, and had, with a large party thereof 
been up the Ohio about Hockhockin, when the battle 
was fought, overtook the militia, and informed them of 
his having since the battle concluded a Treaty with the 
Indians ; upon which the whole army returned, 

And the said William declareth that, on the evening 
of that day on which the junction of the troops took 
place, he was in company with Lord Dunmore and se- 
veral of his officers, and also conversed with several who 
had been with Lord Dunmore at the Treaty ; said Wil- 
liam, on that evening, heard repeated conversations 
concerning an extraordinary speech made at the Trea- 
ty, or sent there by a chieftain of the Indians named 
Logan, and heard several attempts at a rehearsal of it. 
The speech as rehearsed excited the particular atten- 
tion of said William, and the most striking members of 
it were impressed on his memory. 

And he declares that when Thomas Jefferson's notes 
on Virginia were published, and he came to peruse the 
same, he was struck with the speech of Logan as there 
set forth, as being substantially the same, and accord- 
ant with the Speech he heard rehearsed in the camp 
as aforesaid. 

Signed, WILLIAM M'KEE. 

Danville, December 18th, 1799. 
We certify that Col. William M'Kee this day signed 



261 

the original certificate, of which the foregoing is a true 
copy, in our presence. 

JAMEL SPEED, Junr. 
J. H. DEWEES. 



The Certificate of the Honourable STEVENS THOMP- 
SON MASON, one of the Senators in Congress from 
the State of Virginia. 

" LOGAN'S Speech, delivered at the Treaty, after 
the Battle, in which Col. LEWIS was killed in 1774." 

[Here follows a copy of the speech agreeing verba- 
tim with that printed in Dixon and Hunter's Virginia 
Gazette of February 4, 1775, under the Williamsburg 
head. At the foot is this certificate.] 

"The foregoing is a copy taken by me, when a boy, 
at school, in the year 1775, or at furthest in 1776, and 
lately found in an old pocket book, containing papers 
and manuscripts of that period. 

"STEPHENS THOMPSON MASON. 

" January 20th, 1798." 



A copy of LO GAN'S Speech given by the late General 
MERCER, who fell in the Battle of Trenton, January 
1776, Jo LEWIS WILLIS, Esq., of Fredericksburg, in 
Virginia, upwards of 20 years ago, (from the date of 
February 1798 J communicated through MANN PAGE, 
Esq. 

" The SPEECH of LOGAN, a Shawanese chief, to 
Lord Dunmore." 

[Here follows a copy of the speech, agreeing verba- 
tim with that in the Notes on Virginia.] 

A copy of LOGAN'S SPEECH from the Notes on 
Virginia having been sent to captain ANDREW ROD- 
GERS of Kentucky, he subjoined the following certi- 
ficate : — 



262 

" In the year 1774, I was out with the Virginia Vol- 
unteers, and was in the battle at the mouth of Canha- 
wee, and afterwards proceeded over the Ohio to the 
Indian towns. I did not hear Logan make the above 
speech ; but, from the unanimous accounts of those In 
camp, I have reason to think that said speech was de- 
livered to Dunmore. I remember to have heard the 
very things contained in the above speech, related by 
some of our people in camp at that time. 

"ANDREW RODGERS." 



The declaration of Mr. JOHN HE CKE WELDER, for 
several years a Missionary from the Society of Moravi- 
ans, among the western Indians. 

In the spring of the year 1774, at a time when the 
interior part of the Indian country all seemed peace 
and tranquil, the Villagers on the Muskingum were 
suddenly alarmed by two Runners (Indians,) who re- 
ported " that the Big Knife, (Virginians) had attacked 
the Mingo settlement, on the Ohio, and butchered even 
the women with their children in their arms, and that 
Logan's family were among the slain." A day or two 
after this, several Mingoes made their appearance ; 
among whom were one or two wounded, who had in 
this manner effected their escape. Exasperated to a 
high degree, after relating the particulars of this trans- 
action, (which for humanity's sake I forbear to men- 
tion,) after resting some time on the treachery of the 
Big Knives, of their barbarity to those who are their 
friends, they gave a figurative description of the per- 
petrators ; named Cresap as having been at the head of 
this murderous act. They made mention of nine being 
killed, and two wounded ; and were prone to take re- 
venge on any person of white colour; for which rea- 
son the missionaries had to shut themselves up during 
their stay. From this time terror daily increased. The 
exasperated friends and relations of these murdered 



263 



women and children, with the nations to whom they 
belonged, passed and repassed through the villages of 
the quiet Delaware towns, in search of white people, 
making use of the most abusive language to these (the 
Delawares,) since they would not join in taking re- 
venge. Traders had either to hide themselves, or try 
to get out of the country the best way they could. And 
even, at this time, they yet found such true friends 
among the Indians, who, at the risk of their own lives, 
conducted them, with the best part of their property, to 
Pittsburg ; although (shameful to relate !) these bene- 
factors were, on their return from this mission, ivaylaid, 
and fired upon by whites, while crossing Big Beaver in 
a canoe, and had one man, a Shawnese, named Silver- 
heels, (a man of note in his nation) wounded in his bo- 
dy. This exasperated the Shawnese so much, that they, 
or at least a great part of them, immediately took an ac- 
tive part in the cause ; and the Mingoes, (nearest connect- 
ed with the former, became unbounded in their rage. A 
Mr. Jones, son to a respectable family of this neigh- 
bourhood (Bethlehem,) who was then on his passage 
up Muskingum, with two other men, was fortunately 
espied by a friendly Indian woman, at the falls of Mus- 
kingum ; who through motives of humanity alone, in- 
formed Jones of the nature of the times, and that he 
was running right in the hands of the enraged ; and put 
him bn the way, where he might perhaps escape the 
vengeance of.the strolling parties. One of Jones's men, 
fatigued by travelling in the woods, declared he would 
rather die than remain longer in this situation ; and hit- 
ting accidentally on a path, he determined to follow 
the same. A few hundred yards decided his fate. He 
was met by a party of about fifteen Mingoes, (and as it 
happened, almost within sight of White Eyes Town J 
murdered and cut to pieces ; and his limbs and flesh 
stuck up on the bushes. White Eyes, on hearing the 
Scalp Halloo, ran immediately out with his men, to 
see what the matter was ; and finding the mangled 
body in this condition, gathered the whole and buried 
. it. But next day, when some of the above party found 



264 



on their return the body interred, they instantly tore up 
the ground, and endeavoured to destroy, or scatter 
about, the parts at a greater distance. White Eyes, 
with the Delawares, watching their motions, gathered 
and interred the same a second time. The war party 
finding this out, ran furiously into the Delaw r are Village, 
exclaiming against the conduct of these people, setting 
forth the cruelty of Cresap towards women and chil- 
dren, and declaring at the same time, that they would, 
in consequence of this cruelty, serve every white man 
they should meet with in the same manner. Times 
grew worse and worse, war parties went out and took 
scalps and prisoners, and the latter, in hopes it might be 
of service in saving their lives, exclaimed against the 
barbarous act which gave rise to these troubles and 
against the perpetrators. The name of Greathouse 
was mentioned as having been accomplice to Cresap. 
So detestable became the latter name among the In- 
dians, that I have frequently heard them apply it to the 
worst of things ; also in quieting or stilling their chil- 
dren, T have heard them say, Hush ! Cresap will fetch 
you ; whereas otherwise, they name the owl. The war- 
riors having afterwards bent their course more toward 
the Ohio, and dow T n the same, peace seemed with us 
already on the return : and this became the case soon 
after the decided battle fought on the Kanhaway. Tra- 
ders, returning now into the Indian country again, re- 
lated the story of the above mentioned massacre, after 
the same manner, and with the same words, we have heard 
it related hitherto. So the report remained, and was 
believed, by all who resided in the Indian country. So 
it was represented numbers of times, in the peaceable 
Delaware Towns, by the enemy. So the Christian In- 
dians were continually told they would one day be serv- 
ed. With this impression, a petty Chief hurried all the 
way from Wabash in 1779 to take his relations (who 
were living with the peaceable Delawares near Coshach- 
king), out of the reach of the Big Knives, in whose 
friendship he never more would place any confidence. 
And when this man found that his numerous relations 



265 



would not break friendship with the Americans, nor be 
removed, he took two of bis relations (women) off by 
force, saying "The whole crop should not be destroy- 
ed; I will have seed out of it for a new crop:" alluding 
to, and repeatedly reminding these of the family of 
Logan, who he said had been real friends to the whites, 
and yet were cruelly murdered by them. 

In Detroit, where I arrived the same Spring, the re- 
port respecting the murder of the Indians on Ohio 
(amongst whom was Logan's family) was the same as 
related above ; and on my return to the United States in 
the Fall of 1786, and from that time, whenever and 
wherever in my presence, this subject was the topic of 
conversation, I found the report still the same; viz. that 
a person, bearing the name of Cresap, was the author, 
or perpetrator of this deed. 

Logan was the second son of Shikellemus, a cele- 
brated chief of the Cayuga nation. This chief, on ac- 
count of his attachment to the English government, was 
of great service to the country, having the confidence 
of all the Six Nations, as well as that of the English, 
he was very useful in settling disputes, &c. &c. He 
was highly esteemed by Conrad Weisser, Esq. (an offi- 
cer for government in the Indian department,) with 
whom he acted conjunctly, and was faithful unto his 
death. His residence was at Shamokin, where he took 
great delight in acts of hospitality to such of the white 
people whose business led them that way.* His name 
and fame were so high on record, that Count Zinzen- 
dorf, when in this country, in 1742, became desirous of 
seeing him, and actually visited him at his house in 
Shamokin.f About the year 1772, Logan was intro- 
duced to me, by an Indian friend ; as son to the late re- 
putable chief Shikellemus, and as a friend to the white 

* The preceding account of Shikellemus, (Logan's father) is 
copied from manuscripts of the Rev. C. Pyrlseus, written between 
the years 1741, and 1748. 

t See G. H. Hoskiel's history of the Mission of the United 
Brethren, &c. part II. chap. II. page 31. 
23 



266 



people. In the course of conversation, I thought him a 
man of superior talents, than Indians generally were. 
The subject turning on vice and immorality, he confess- 
ed his too great share of this, especially his fondness for 
liquor. He exclaimed against the white people for im- 
posing liquors upon the Indians ; he otherwise admired 
their ingenuity; spoke of gentlemen, but observed the 
Indians unfortunately had but few of these as their 
neighbours, &c. He spoke of his friendship to the white 
people, wished always to be a neighbour to them, in- 
tended to settle on the Ohio, below Big Beaver ; was 
(to the best of my recollection) then encamped at 
the mouth of this river, (Beaver,) urged me to pay 
him a visit, &c. Note. I was then living at the Mora- 
vian town on this river, in the neighbourhood of Cus- 
kuskee. In April 1773, while on my passage down the 
Ohio for Muskinghum, I called at Logan's settlement; 
where I received every civility 1 could expect from such 
of the family as were at home. 

Indian reports concerning Logan, after the death of 
his family, ran to this ; that he exerted himself during 
the Shawanee war, (then so called) to take all the re- 
venge he could, declaring he had lost all confidence in 
the white people. At the time of negotiation, he de- 
clared his reluctance in laying down the hatchet, not 
having (in his opinion) yet taken ample satisfaction ; 
yet, for the sake of the nation, he would do it. His ex- 
pressions, from time to time, denoted a deep melan- 
choly. Life (said he) had become a torment to him : 
He knew no more what pleasure was : He thought it 
had been better if he had never existed, &c. &c. Re- 
port further states, that he became in some measure 
delirious, declared he would kill himself, went to De- 
troit, drank very freely, and did not seem to care what 
he did, and what became of himself. In this condition 
he left Detroit, and on his way between that place and 
Miami, was murdered. In October 1781, (while as 
prisoner on my way to Detroit,) I was shown the spot 
where this should have happened. Having had an op- 
portunity since last June of seeing the Rev. David Zeis- 



261 



herger, senior, missionary to the Delaware nation of 
Indians, who had resided among the same on Mus- 
kinghum, at the time when the murder was committed 
on the family of Logan, I put the following questions to 
him. 1. Who he had understood it was that had com- 
mitted the murder on Logan's family ? And secondly, 
whether he had any knowledge of a speech sent to lord 
Dun more by Logan, in consequence of this affair, &c. 
To which Mr. Zeisberger's answer was : That he had, 
from that time when this murder was committed to the 
present day, firmly believed the common report (which 
he had never heard contradicted) viz. that one Cresap 
was the author of the massacre ; or that it was com- 
mitted by his orders; and that he had known Logan as 
a boy, had frequently seen him from that time, and 
doubted not in the least, that Logan had sent such a 
speech to Lord Dunmore on this occasion, as he under- 
stood from me had been published ; that expressions of 
that kind from Indians were familiar to him ; that Lo- 
gan in particular was a man of quick comprehension,, 
good judgment and talents. Mr. Zeisberger has been 
a missionary upwards of fifty years; his age is about 
eighty; speaks both the language of the Onondagoes 
and the Delawares ; resides at present on the Muskin- 
gum, with his Indian congregation ; and is beloved and 
respected by all who are acquainted with him. 

JOHN HECKEWELDEIL 



From this testimony the following historical statement re- 
sults : 

In April or May 1774, a number of people being 
engaged in looking out for settlements on the Ohio, in- 
formation was spread among them, that the Indians had 
robbed some of the landjobbers, as those adventurers 
were called. Alarmed for their safety, they collected 
together at Wheeling-creek. ^Hearing there that there 



* First murder of the two Indians by Cresap. 



268 



were two Indians and some traders a little above Wheel- 
ing, Captain Michael Cresap, one of the party, proposed 
to waylay and kill them. The proposition, though op- 
posed, was adopted. A party went up the river, with 
Cresap at their head, and killed the two Indians. 

* The same afternoon it was reported that there was 
a party of Indians on the Ohio, a little below Wheeling. 
Cresap and his party immediately proceeded down the 
river, and encamped on the bank. The Indians passed 
him peaceably, and encamped at the mouth of Grave- 
creek, a little below. Cresap and his party attacked 
them, and killed several. The Indians returned the 
fire, and wounded one of Cresap's party. Among the 
slain of the Indians were some of Logan's family. Co- 
lonel Zane indeed expresses a doubt of it; but it is af- 
firmed by Huston and Chambers. Smith, one of the 
murderers, said they were known and acknowledged to 
be Logan's friends, and the party themselves generally 
said so : boasted of it in presence of Cresap ; pre- 
tended no provocation ; and expressed their expectations 
that Logan would probably avenge their deaths. 

Pursuing these examples! Daniel Great-house and 
one Tomlinson, who lived on the opposite side of the 
river from the Indians, and were in habits of friendship 
with them, collected at the house of Polke on Cross 
creek, about 16 miles from Baker's Bottom a party of 
32 men. Their object was to attack a hunting encamp- 
ment of Indians, consisting of men, women and chil- 
dren, at the month of Yellow creek, some distance above 
Wheeling. They proceeded, and when arrived near 
Baker's Bottom, they concealed themselves, and Great- 
house crossed the river to the Indian camp. Being 
among them as a friend he counted them, and found 
them too strong for an open attack with his force. 
While here, he was cautioned by one of the women not 
to stay, for that the Indian men were drinking, and 

* Second murder on Grave-creek. 

t Massacre at Baker's Bottom, opposite Yellow Creek, by 
Great-house. 



269 



having heard of Cresap's murder of their relations at 
Grave cre^k, were angry, and she pressed him in a 
friendly manner, to go home ; whereupon, after inviting 
them to come over and drink, he returned to Baker's 
which was a tavern, and desired that when any of them 
should come to his house he would give them as much 
rum as they would drink. When his plot was ripe and 
a sufficient number of them were collected at Baker's 
and intoxicated, he and his party fell on them and mas- 
sac reed the whole, except a little girl, whom they pre- 
served as a prisoner. Among these was the very wo- 
man who had saved his life, by pressing him to retire 
from the drunken wrath of her friends, when he was 
spying their camp at Yellow-creek. — Either she herself, 
or some other of the murdered women, was the sister 
of Logan, very big with child, and inhumanly and in- 
decently butchered ; and there were others of his rela- 
tions who fell here. 

The party on the other side of the river,* alarmed for 
their friends at Baker's, on hearing the report of the 
guns, manned two canoes and sent them over. They 
were received, as they approached the shore, by a well 
directed fire from Great-house's party, which killed 
some, wounded others, and obliged the rest to put back. 
Baker tells us there were twelve killed, and 7 six or eight 
wounded. 

This commenced the war, of which Logan's war- 
club and note left in the house of a murdered family, 
was the notification. In the course of it, during the 
ensuing summer, great numbers of innocent men, wo- 
men and children, fell victims to the tomahawk and 
scalping knife of the Indians, till it was arrested in the 
autumn following by the battle at Point Pleasant and 
the pacification with Lord Dunmore, at which the 
speech of Logan was delivered. 

Of the genuineness of that speech nothing need be 
said. — It was known to the camp where it was deliver- 
ed ; it was given out by Lord Dunmore and his officers ; 

* Fourth murder by Great-house. 

23* 



270 



it ran through the public papers of these states ; was 
rehearsed as an exercise at schools : published in the 
papers and periodical works of Europe ; and all this, a 
dozen years before it was copied into the Notes on Vir- 
ginia. In fine, General Gibson concludes the question 
for ever, by declaring that he received it from Logan's 
hand, delivered it to Lord Dunmore, translated it for 
him, and that the copy in the Notes on Virginia is a 
faithful copy. 

The popular account of these transactions, as stated 
in the Notes on Virginia, appears, on collecting exact 
information, imperfect and erroneous in its details. It 
was the belief of the day ; but how far its errors were 
to the prejudice of Cresap, the reader will now judge. 
That he, and those under him, murdered two Indians 
above Wheeling; that they murdered a large number 
at Grave-creek, among whom were a part of the family 
and relations of Logan, cannot be questioned ; and as 
little that this led to the massacre of the rest of the fa- 
mily at Yellow-creek. Logan imputed the whole to 
Cresap in his war note and peace-speech: the Indians 
generally imputed it to Cresap : Lord Dunmore and his 
officers imputed it to Cresap: the country with one ac- 
cord, imputed it to him : and whether he were inno- 
cent, let the universal verdict now declare. 



271 



The declaration of John Sappington, received after tht 
publication of the preceding Appendix. 



I, JOHN SAPPINGTON, declare myself to be inti- 
mately acquainted with all the circumstances respect- 
ing the destruction of Logan's family, and do give 
in the following narrative, a true statement of that 
affair. 

Logan's family (if it was his family) was not killed by 
Cresap, nor with his knowledge, nor by his consent, but 
by the Great-houses and their associates. They were 
killed 30 miles above Wheeling, near the mouth of Yel- 
low creek. Logan's camp was on one side of the river 
Ohio, and the house, where the murder was committed, 
opposite to it on the other side. — They had encamped 
there only four or five days, and during that time had 
lived peaceably and neighbourly with the whites on the 
opposite side, until the very day the affair happened. A 
little before the period alluded to, letters had been re- 
ceived by the inhabitants from a man of great influence 
in that country, and who was then I believe at Cap- 
teener, informing them that war was at hand, and de~ 
siring them to be on their guard. In consequence of 
those letters and other rumours of the same import, al- 
most all the inhabitants fled for safety into the settle- 
ments. It was at the house of one Baker the murder 
was committed. Baker was a man who sold rum, and 
the Indians had made frequent visits at his house, in- 
duced, probably, by their fondness for that liquor. He 
had been particularly desired by Cresap to remove and 
take away his rum, and he was actually preparing to 
move at the time of the murder. The evening before a 



272 



gqpaw came over to Baker's bouse, and by ber crying 
seemed to be in great distress. The cause of ber un- 
easiness being asked, she refused to tell ; but getting 
Baker's wife a]one, she told ber, tbat the Indians were 
going to kill ber and all ber family the next day, that 
she loved ber, did not wish her to be killed, and there- 
fore told her what w r as intended, that sbe might save her- 
self. In consequence of this information. Baker got a 
number of men to the amount of twenty-one to come 
to his house, and they were all there before morning. 
A council was held, and it was determined, that the 
men should lie concealed in the back apartment ; that 
if the Indians did come and behaved themselves peacea- 
bly, they should not be molested ; but if not, the men 
were to show themselves, and act accordingly. Early 
in the morning seven Indians, four men and three 
squaws, came over. Logan's brother was one of them. 
They immediately got rum, and all, except Logan's 
brother, became very much intoxicated. At this time 
all the men were concealed, except the man of the 
house, Baker, and two others who staid out with him. 
Those Indians came unarmed. After some time Lo- 
gan's brother took down a coat and hat belonging to 
Baker's brother-in-law, who lived with him, and put 
them on, and setting his arms a-kimbo, began to strut 
about, till at length coming up to one of the men, be 
attempted to strike him, saying " white man, son of a 
bitch." The white man, whom he treated thus, kept 
out of bis way for some time ; but growing irritated he 
jumped to his gun, and shot the Indian as he was mak- 
ing to the door with the coat and hat on him. The men 
who lay concealed then rushed out, and killed the whole 
of them, excepting one child, which I believe is alive 
yet. But before this happened, one with two, the other 
with five Indians, all naked, painted and armed com- 
pletely for war, were discovered to start from the shore 
on which Logan's camp was. Had it not been for this 
circumstance, the white men would not have acted as 
they did; but this confirmed what the squaw had told 
before. The white men, having killed as aforesaid the 



273 



Indians in the house, ranged themselves along the bank 
of the river, to receive the canoes. The canoe with 
the two Indians came near, being the foremost. Our 
men fired upon them and killed them both. The other 
canoe then went back. After this two other canoes 
started, the one containing eleven, the other seven In- 
dians, painted and armed as the first. They attempted 
to land below our men ; but were fired upon, had one 
killed, and retreated, at the same time firing back. To 
the best of my recollection there were three of the 
Great-houses engaged in this business. This is a true 
representation of the affair from beginning to end. I 
was intimately acquainted with Cresap, and know he 
had no hand in that transaction. He told me himself 
afterwards at Redstone Old Fort, that the day before 
Logan's people were killed, he, with a a small party, 
had an engagement with a party of Indians on Cap- 
teener, about forty-four miles lower down. Logan's 
people were killed at the mouth of Yellow creek, on 
the 24th of May, 1774 ; and the 23d, the day before, 
Cresap was engaged as already stated. I know like- 
wise that he was generally blamed for it, and believed 
by all who were not acquainted with the circumstances, 
to have been the perpetrator of it. I know that he 
despised and hated the Great-houses ever afterwards 
on account of it. I was intimately acquainted with 
General Gibson, and served under him during the late 
war, and I have a discharge from him now lying in the 
land-office at Richmond, to which I refer any person 
for my character, who might be disposed to scruple my 
veracity. I was likewise at the treaty held by Lord 
Dunmore with the Indians at Chelicothe. As for the 
speech said to have been delivered by Logan on that 
occasion, it might have been, or might not, for any 
thing I know, as I never heard of it till long afterwards. 
I do not believe that Logan had any relations killed, 
except his brother. Neither of the squaws who were 
killed was his wife. Two of them were old women, 
and the third, with her child which was saved, I have 
the best reason in the world to believe was the wife 



274 



and child of general Gibson. I know he educated the 
child, and took care of it. as if it had been his own. 
Whether Logan had a wife or not, 1 cant say : but it is 
probable that as he was a chief, he considered them all 
as his people. All this 1 am ready to be qualified to at 
anv time. 

JOHN SAPPINGTON. 
Attest — Samuel M'Kee, Junr. 

Madison County, Feb. 13th, 1800. 

I do certify further that the above named John Sap- 
pi ngton told me, at the same time and place at which 
he gave me the above narrative, that he himself was the 
man who shot the brother of Logan in the house as 
above related, and that he likewise killed one of the 
Indians in one of the canoes, which came over from the 
opposite shore. 

He likewise told me, that Cresap never said an an- 
gry word to him about the matter, although he was 
frequently in company with Cresap, and indeed had 
been, and con inued to be, in habits of intimacy with that 
gentleman, and w T as always befriended by him on every 
occasion. He further told me, that after they had per- 
petrated the murder, and were flying into the settle- 
ments, he met with Cresap (if I recollect right, at Red- 
stone Old Fort;) and gave him a scalp, a very large 
fine one, as he expressed it, and adorned with silver. 
This scalp, T think he told me, was the scalp of Logan's 
brother ; though as to this I am not absolutely certain. 
Certified by SAMUEL M ( KEE 5 Junr. 



SPEECH 

OF 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

President of the United States, 
DELIVERED 

AT HfS INSTALMENT, MARCH 4, 180 1 5 AT THE 
CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



Friends and Fellow- Citizens, 
Called upon to undertake the duties of the first ex- 
ecutive office of our country, I avail myself of the pre- 
sence of that portion of iny fellow-citizens, which is 
here assembled, to express my grateful thanks, for the 
favour with which they have been pleased to look to- 
wards me ; to declare a sincere consciousness, that the 
task is above my talents, and that I approach it with 
those anxious and awful presentiments, which the 
greatness of the charge, and the weakness of my pow- 
ers, so justly inspire. A rising nation, spread over a 
wide and fruitful land — traversing all the seas with the 
rich productions of their industry — engaged in com- 
merce with nations who feel power and forget right — -" 
advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mor- 
tal eye — vvhen I contemplate these transcendent ob- 
jects, and see the honour, the happiness, and the hopes 
of this beloved country, committed to the issue and the 
auspices of this day, 1 shrink from the contemplation^, 
a nd humble myself before the magnitude of the under- 



276 



taking. Utterly, indeed, should I despair, did not the 
presence of many, whom I here see, remind me, that in 
the other high authorities provided by our constitution, 
I shall find resources of wisdom, of virtue, and of zeal, 
on which to rely under all difficulties. To you, then, 
gentlemen, who are charged with the sovereign func- 
tions of legislation, and to those associated with you, I 
look with encouragement for that guidance and sup- 
port, which may enable us to steer, with safety, the 
vessel in which we are all embarked, amidst the con- 
flicting elements of a troubled world. 

During the contest of opinion, through which we 
have past, the animation of discussions and of exer- 
tions, has sometimes worn an aspect which might im- 
pose on strangers, unused to think freely, and to speak 
and to write what they think ; but this being now de- 
cided by the voice of the nation, announced according 
to the rules of the constitution, all will, of course, ar- 
range themselves under the will of the law, and unite 
in common efforts, for the common good. All, too, will 
bear in mind this sacred principle ; that though the will 
of the majority is, in all cases, to prevail, that will, to be 
rightful, must be reasonable — that the minority possess 
their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and 
to violate would be oppression. Let us then, fellow- 
citizens, unite with one heart, and one mind. Let us 
restore to social intercourse, that harmony and affec- 
tion, without which, liberty, and even life itself, are but 
dreary things, and let us reflect, that, having banished 
from our land, that religious intolerance, under which 
mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained 
little, if we countenance a political intolerance, as des- 
potic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody 
persecutions. 

During the throes and convulsions of the ancient 
world — during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, 
seeking, through blood and slaughter, his long lost li- 
berty — it was not wonderful that the agitation of the 
billows should reach even this distant and peaceful 
shore — that this should be more felt and feared by some, 



277 



and less by others — and should divide opinions, as to 
measures .of safety. But every difference of opinion is 
not a difference of principle. We have called by dif- 
ferent names, brethren of the same principle. WE 
ARE ALL REPUBLICANS; WE ARE ALL FE- 
DERALISTS. If there be any among us, who would 
wish to dissolve this union, or to change its republican 
form, let them stand undisturbed, as monuments of the 
safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, 
where reason is left free to combat it. I know indeed 
that some honest men fear that a republican govern- 
ment cannot be strong — that this government is not 
strong enough. But would the honest patriot, in the 
full tide of successful experiment, abandon a govern- 
ment which has so far kept us free and firm, on the 
theoretic and visionary fear, that this government, the 
world's best hope, may, by possibility, want energy to 
preserve itself ;►—•[ trust not — 1 believe this, on the con- 
trary, the strongest government on earth — I believe it 
the only one, where every man, at the call of the law, 
would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet 
invasions of the public order as his own personal con- 
cern. Sometimes it is said, that man cannot be trusted 
with the government of himself. Can he then be trust- 
ed with the government of others? or have we found 
angels, in the form of kings, to govern him ? Let his- 
tory answer this question. 

Let us, then, with courage and confidence, pursue our 
own federal and republican principles — our attachment 
to union and representative government. Kindly sepa- 
rated, by nature and a wide ocean, from the extermi- 
nating havock of one quarter of the globe — too high- 
minded to endure the degradations of the others — pos- 
sessing a chosen country, with room enough for our 
descendants to the thousandth and thousandth genera- 
tion—entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the 
use of our own faculties — to the acquisitions of our own 
industry — to honour and confidence from our fellow- 
citizens; resulting not from birth, but from our actions, 
and their sense of them — enlightened by a benign reli- 



278 



gion, professed, indeed, and practised in various forms, 
yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, 
gratitude, and the love of man — acknowledging and 
adoring an overruling Providence, which, by all its 
dispensations, proves that it delights in the happiness of 
man here, and his greater happiness hereafter — with 
all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us 
a happy and prosperous people ? — Still one thing more, 
fellow citizens, a wise and frugal government, which 
shall restrain men from injuring one another; shall 
leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits 
of industry and improvement ; and shall not take from 
the mouth of labour the bread it has earned. This is 
the sum of good government; and this is necessary to 
close the circle of our felicities. 

About to enter, fellow-citizens, on the exercise of du- 
ties, which comprehend every thing dear and valuable 
to you, it is proper you should understand what I deem 
the essential principles of our government, and conse- 
quently those which ought to shape its administration. 
I will compress them within the narrowest compass 
they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all 
its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of 
whatever state or persuasion, relgious or political — 
peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations 

— entangling alliances with none — the support of the 
state governments in all their rights, as the most com- 
petent administrations for our domestic concerns, and 
the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies 

— the preservation of the general government in its 
whole constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our 
peace at home, and safety abroad— a jealous care of the 
right of election by the people — a mild and safe correc- 
tive of abuses, which are lopped by the sword of revo- 
lution, where peaceable remedies are unprovided — ab- 
solute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the 
vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but 
to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of 
despotism — a well disciplined militia, our best reliance 
in peace, and for the first moments of war, till regulars 



279 



may relieve them — the supremacy of the civil over the 
military authority — economy in the public expense, that 
labour may be lightly burdened — the honest payment 
of our debts, and sacred preservation of public faith — 
encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce, as its 
handmaid — the diffusion of information, and arrange- 
ment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason — 
freedom of religion — freedom of the press — and free- 
dom of person, under the protection of the habeas cor- 
pus, and trials by juries impartially selected. These 
principles form the bright constellation, which has gone 
before us, and guided our steps through an age of re- 
volution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages, 
and blood of our heroes, have been devoted to their at- 
tainment. They should be the creed of our political 
faith — the text of civic instruction — the touchstone by 
which to try the services of those we trust ; and should 
we wander from them, in moments of error or alarm, 
let us hasten to retrace our steps, and to regain the 
road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety. 

I repair, then, fellow citizens, to the post you have 
assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate 
offices, to have seen the difficulties of this, the greatest 
of all, I have learned to expect, that it will rarely fall to 
the lot of imperfect man, to retire from this station, with 
the reputation, and the favour, which bring him into it. 
Without pretensions to that high confidence you repos- 
ed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, 
whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first 
place in his country's love, and destined for him the 
fairest page in the volume of faithful history, 1 ask so 
much confidence only, as may give firmness and effect 
to the legal administration of your affairs. I shall often 
go wrong, through defect of judgment. When right I 
shall often be thought wrong, by those whose positions 
will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask 
your indulgence for my own errors, which will never 
be intentional ; and your support against the errors of 
others, who may condemn what they would not, if seen 
in all its parts. The approbation implied by your suf- 



280 



frage, is a great consolation to me for the past : and my 
future solicitude will be, to retain the good opinion of 
those who have bestowed it in advance, to conciliate 
that of others by doing them all the good in my power, 
and to be instrumental to the happiness and freedom 



Relying, then, on the patronage of your good will, I 
advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire 
from it whenever you become sensible how much bet- 
ter choices it is in your power to make. And may that 
infinite Power, which rules the destinies of the uni- 
verse, lead our councils to what is best, and give them 
a favourable issue, for our peace and prosperity. 



of all. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



FINIS. 




\ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




